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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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// 


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^.<^ 


^ 


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1.0 


1.1 


itt  m  122 

Ml  ■ 

u 


1211 


1^    12.0 


LA.  11.6 


Ftiotogmphic 

Sciences 

CarparatJon 


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^v 


<^ 


23  WBT  MAIN  STREiT 

WIBSTIR,N.Y.  14aiM 

(716)  173  4303 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


T«chnioa(  and  MbNograpMe  NotM/NotM  tachniquM  M  bibliographiqiNM 


Th«  Inatitut*  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tlia  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  bo  bibliographioally  uniciuo. 
which  may  altar  any  of  tho  imagaa  In  tho 
raproduction.  or  wMch  may  dgnifieantly  changa 
tho  uaual  method  of  fUmlng.  ara  chackad  balow. 


□   Coloured  covora/ 
Couvorturo  do  coulour 


r~n   Covora  damaged/ 


D 


D 


D 


D 


Couvorturo  andommag4o 


Covora  raatorad  and/or  laminated/ 
Couvorturo  reetaurAe  et/ou  pollicuMo 


r~|  Cover  title  miaaing/ 


La  titre  do  couvorturo  manque 


□   Coloured  mapa/ 
Cartea  gtegraphiquea  an  coulour 


Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  biaclt)/ 
Encre  do  coulour  (i.e.  autre  qua  Meue  ou  noire) 


□   Coloured  platee  and/or  illuatrationa/ 
Planehea  et/ou  illuatrationa  en  coulour 

□   Bound  with  other  material/ 
Rali*  avac  d'cutrea  doeumenta 


GZl 


Tight  binding  may  cauae  ahadowa  or  diatortlon 
along  interior  margin/ 

Laroliure  sorrAe  pout  cauaar  da  I'ombre  ou  do  la 
dialoiaion  lo  lono  do  la  marge  inlArloure 

Blanic  leavea  added  during  reatoration  may 
appeer  within  the  text.  Wlwnever  poaaibla.  theae 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  ae  peut  quo  cortainea  pagea  bianchea  ajoutAoa 
lora  d'une  reetauration  apparaiaaam  dana  la  texto, 
maia,  ioraquo  cola  4tait  poaaiblft.  cea  pagea  n'ont 
paa  4t*  film^ea. 

Additional  commenta:/  Various  pmingi. 

Commentairea  aupplAmantairaa: 


L'lnatHut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At*  poaaibla  da  ae  procurer.  Lea  dAtaila 
da  cat  exemplaire  qui  aont  peut**tre  uniquea  du 
point  do  vue  bibliogrephique.  qui  pouvent  modifier 
urto  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  pouvent  exiger  une 
modification  dana  la  mithode  normale  do  f iimage 
aont  Indiqu4a  d-daaaoua. 


Th 
to 


D 
D 
D 
0 
D 
0 
D 
D 
D 
D 


Coloured  pagea/ 
Pagee  do  coulour 

Pagea  damaged/ 
Pagea  andommagAea 

Pagea  raatorad  and/or  laminated/ 
Pagea  reataurAea  *t/ou  poliiculAea 

Pagea  diacoloured.  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pagea  dAcoiories.  tachatiea  ou  piquAas 

Pagea  detached/ 
Pagea  ditachies 

Showthrough/ 
Tranaparence 

Quality  of  print  variea/ 
Qualiti  inAgaia  da  i'imprasaion 

Includes  aupplementary  material/ 
Comprand  du  matAriai  supplAmentairc 

Only  edition  available/ 
Soulo  Mition  diaponible 

Pagea  wholly  or  partially  obacurad  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  heve  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  imege/ 
Lee  pages  totalement  ou  partialiament 
obscureies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata.  una  polure. 
etc..  ont  4t*  fiimAoa  i  nouveau  da  facon  S 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  poasibia. 


Th 
po 
of 
fill 


Or 

bo 
th< 
ale 
oti 
fin 
aic 
or 


Th 
ah 
TH 
wl 

Ml 
dil 

enl 
be 
rig 


Thia  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checlced  below/ 

Co  document  est  film*  au  taux  da  reduction  indiquA  ci«dassous. 


10X 

14X 

itx 

22X 

26X 

aox 

y 

I 

12X 

itx 

aox 

a«x 

2IX 

32X 

Th*  eopy  fUmcd  bun  hm  bMn  raprodHoad  thanks 
to  tha  ganaroalty  of: 

Douglas  Library 
Quaan's  Univarsity 


L'axamplaira  fllm4  ffut  raproduit  griaa  i  la 
8«n«roait«  da: 

Douglas  Library 
Quaan's  Univarsity 


Tha  Imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
posslbia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  laglbillty 
off  tha  original  copy  and  in  Icaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spadffieations. 


Original  copies  in  printed  papar  covers  ara  fllmad 
beginning  with  tha  ffront  cover  and  ending  on 
the  laat  page  with  a  printed  or  liluatrated  impree- 
aion.  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  origlnei  copiee  ere  ffilmed  beginning  on  the 
fflrst  pege  with  e  printed  or  illustrated  Impree- 
elon,  end  ending  on  tha  ieat  pege  with  a  printed 
or  illustreted  impresston. 


Ths  lost  recorded  fframe  on  each  microfiche 
shsil  contein  the  symbol  ^^-  (meening  "CON- 
TINUED"),  or  the  symbol  ▼  (meening  "END"), 
whichever  appllae. 


Lee  imegea  suivantae  ont  4ti  raproduitea  avec  le 
plus  grsnd  soln,  compte  tenu  do  Is  condition  et 
do  la  nattetA  da  I'exempkiire  ffllm4.  et  en 
conformity  evec  lee  condltiona  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 

Lea  exempieires  originoux  dont  ie  couverture  en 
pepler  est  imprim4e  sent  filmte  en  commenpent 
per  le  premier  plot  et  en  terminent  soit  per  le 
demlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'Impreeslon  ou  dlllustrstion,  soit  per  le  second 
plot,  selon  le  ces.  Tous  Iss  eutres  sxemplaires 
originoux  sent  filmte  en  commen^ent  par  la 
pramMre  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreaaion  ou  d'iliustrstion  et  en  terminent  par 
la  dernlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symboies  suhrents  epperattra  sur  la 
darnlAre  imege  do  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cos:  la  symbols  -^>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Meps,  plates,  cherts,  etc.,  msy  be  filmed  m*. 
different  reduction  rstios.  Those  too  lerge  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ere  filmed 
beginning  in  tlie  upper  left  hend  comer,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom,  es  meny  fframea  as 
required.  The  following  diegrems  lilustrete  the 
method: 


Les  certes,  plenehes,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  das  teux  do  rMuction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grend  pour  Atre 
reprodult  en  un  soul  ciichA,  II  est  film*  i  partir 
da  I'angle  supArleur  geuche.  do  gsuche  A  droite, 
et  do  heut  en  bes,  en  prenant  la  nombre 
d'imeges  nAcesseire.  Las  diegrammes  sulvants 
iiiustrant  la  mAthoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

A  LIFE 


or 


RT.  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN, 


COADJUTOR    BISUOF     OF    DBRRT, 


wim 


0tltctiott0  from  4^0  (Eotve»ponbeme. 


ST 


THOMAS  D'AECY  M'GEE, 


AVTHOB  OF 

**A  IU0TOET  or  THE  ATTEMrTt  TO  ESTABLISH  THE  BErOBMATIOIf  tif  IBELAHO;" 
DISC0UBSE8  Olf  "THE  CATHOLIC  HISTOBT  OF  IfOBTH  AMEKICA;" 
"the  IBISH  SETTLBBS  Uf  AMEBICA,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


**  It  Ib  the  duty  of  a  Bisbon  to  jadne,  to  interpret,  to  eonseerste,  to  ordain,  to 
offer,  to  twptlie,  and  to  eonflrm.^— Form  of  CtnieenUim  tf  a  BUkaf  ooeorin^  to 
i«sJLal«n£Jet. 


XM, 


P  .    0  '  S  H  E  A  , 

799  BROADWAY  AND  30  BEKRMAN 
1867. 


>r« 


(V   ■ 


B^4?ori^Km^    '<^/ 


Entered  aoeording  to  Aet  of  Coagreaa,  in  the  year  18B7,  lij 

P.  0*SHBA, 

In  the  GIerk*e  Office  of  the  District  Conrt  of  the  Untied  States 
for  the  Soathom  District  of  New  York. 


■i^' 
V 


^-^ 


'^. 


"A 


>' 


» 


V 


■•^^  .        >«'' 


*• 


HIS  SUfiTIYINO  BEUTIYSS  AND  PBIENOSk 


'AT  nom'*  jtjm  abboas. 


3   3Stf spttifttlls   JBtbUsic   iH»   intmo  t      \ 


or 


\ 


THE  LATE  RIGHT  REVEREND  DR.  MAGINN, 


BlSnOP  or  DBBBT 


^ 


s/7^9rh 


■'■"^  ■<>w»>-.Mi     '— ^»    I*    ■M>n<.»—   ■>■  •«  'W'     -^Mk    «T«.    . 


•-'-«;: 


I 


^i/J***^'" 


• 


CONTENTS, 


PrefiMe. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Birth  and  Fftmily  of  Dr.  Maginn— His  first  TeMheiw-Stndies  «t  the 
Irish  College,  Paris — Ordained  in  Ireland — Appointed  Curate  of  Mo* 
ville— Brief  account  of  Innishowen— The  Derry  Discussion — Catho- 
lic Emancipation — Mr.  Maginn  appointed  Parish  Priest 1—39 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Mission  of  the  new  Parish  Priest — State  of  the  Church  in  General 
— Local  Exertions  of  Dr.  Maginn — ^He  suppresses  Secret  Socielies— 
Fonnds  Seven  National  Schools — ^His  Controversy  with  the  National 
Board  of  Education — ^His  Increasing  In.laence — ^His  Preaching  as 
described  by  a  Cot«mporary . 40—63 

CHAPTER  III. 

O'Conneirs  last  Efforts  for  Repeal— Mr.  Maginn*s  leal  in  that  Agita^ 
tion — His  Correspondence  with  the  Marquis  of  Normanby — ^His 
confidenee  in  O'Connell's  Triumph— His  Elevation  to  the  Episco- 
pacy— Congratulations  thereupon — National  Politics — ^His  Opinion  of 
the  TouDg  Ireland  Party— His  Success  as  an  Administrator.  .64—86 

CHAPTER  rV. 

Dr.  Magiiin*s  Evidence  before  Lord  Devon's  **  Commission  on  the  Oc- 
cupation of  Land  in  Ireland" — Frequent  Maladministration  of  tha 
Poor  Law — The  Famine  and  the  Officials— His  Indignation  at  th« 
Destruction  of  Human  Life — His  incessant  Efforts  to  relieve  the 
Poor — Strongly  opposes  the  proposed  wholesale  Emigration  to  Can- 
ada—Society for  the  Conservation  of  the  Faith , .  87—103 


( 


OOMTBRTS. 


f 

i 

■J 


'Ml' 


CHAPTER  V. 

Dr.  M«ginn*s  Vicwi  of  Cbureh  Polity  in  IreUnd— Th«  ChariUbl«  B«- 
qnest*  AeU-Th«  Queen'a  CoUegei— Differenees  of  Opinion  among 
the  Hierarchy  on  the  Colleges  Act,  as  amended— Accession  of  ^e 
Whigs  to  Power— The  New  Pope— Episcopal  Meetings  in  1846— 
The  Appeal  to  Rome — Other  Episcopal  Movements— Proposed  Na- 
tional Address  to  Pope  Pius  IX 104—120 

CHAPTER  VI, 

Pontificate  of  Pins  IX.— English  Intrigues  in  Italy— Lord  Minto*s 
Mission — ^Lord  Shrewsbury's  Visit  to  Rome— Lord  Clarendon's  Pro- 
position to  Archbishop  Murray — The  Irish  Bishops,  opposed  to  the 
Ooyemment  scheme  of  Academical  Education,  send  two  of  their 
nnmber  to  Rome— The  Agents  and  Influences  employed  against 
them — Success  of  the  Mission  of  Drs.  MaoHale  and  0*Higgins— Dr. 
Maginn's  part  in  it— Insurrection  in  Rome— The  Pope  in  Exile— El- 
oquent Pastoral  of  Dr.  Maginn  on  that  event— Its  reception  at  Rome, 
and  by  the  Holy  Father 121—134 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Influence  of  tLe  Famine  on  Public  Spirit — Dr.  Maginn's  Letters  on 
**  Tenant-Right" — His  Letters  to  Lord  Stanley — His  Popularity — 
Effiect  of  the  French  Revolution  on  Ireland— Patriotic  attempts  to 
re-unite  the  National  Parties — ^The  Protestant  Repealers  and  Mr. 
Sharman  Crawford,  M.  P.— Extraordinary  Circular  of  the  Earl  of 

^  Shrewsbury — The  Young  Ireland  Catastrophe — Dr.  Maginn's  Cor- 
respondence with  the  Castie  in  relation  thereto— His  sympathy  with 
the  Defeated  Party  and  the  State  Prisoners 13fr— 170 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

Dr.  Maginn's  Final  Visitation  of  his  Diocese— The  proposed  Provin- 
cial Synod  and  CathoQc  University- Dr.  Maginn's  last  Illness  and 
Death — Oenen^  Sorrow  expressed  by  the  Catholic  Body — ^His  Fu- 
neral— His  Character  and  Genius— Tributes  to  his  Memory  at  Homo 
and  Abroad 171—193 


oovniiTC.  vii      I 

The  Divon  CoMMitiioN— The  IUt.  Edward  Mac^nn  ■worn  and  exam- 

iued 106—811 

The  Coai  TairAirr  Leaqub— Letter  to  W.  H-  Trenwitb,  Esq.  81S— 318 
Letter  to  Dr.  MoKnight,  of  Derry 810— S20 

POLITICAL  CORRESPONDENCE. 

John  0*Connell  to  Biahop  Maginn 887 

O.  Poalett  Sorope  to  ••  .^387—834 

BiNETOLENOB   Or   THE   BeITISH    PxOPLB     OURINO    THE    IbISH 

Famine. — ^Bishop  Maginn  to  Meisrt.  Hawkins,  Jones  and 

Gilmore 835—888  \ 

Lord  William  Fitzgerald  to  Bishop  Maginn 888  1 

Lord  Normanby  to  "  <»       880— 841  I 

Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Briggs  to  ««  <*        841—345  | 

Thomas  Steele,  Esq.,  to  "  •*        845—851 

ROMAN  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Archbishop  CuUen  to  Bishop  Maginn 851—861 

Rev  Dr.  O'Higgins  to  ••  861-365 

Archbishop  Cullen  to  " 865—868 

Rev  Dr.  O'Higgins  to  "  860—371 

Archbishop  Cnllen  to  «•  871-378 

Amended  Statutes  of  the  Queen's  Colleges  in  Ireland,  relat- 
ing to  Religion 870—384 

Bishop  Maginn's  Pastoral  on  the  Pope's  Exile 885—306 


/ 


mm^ 


f 


J^- 


PREFACE. 

Thi  reatorfttion  of  her  anoi«nt  Charoh,  And  th«  nwintcnMoe  of  ito 
liberties  against  all  the  intrignes  of  the  Imperial  power,  ii  the  ohicf 
glory  of  Ireland  in  the  XlXth  century.  It  is  qnite  glorj  enough  ;  it 
is  a  triumph  without  parallel  in  the  ceolesiastieal  history  of  our  times. 
That  national  churches  (if  the  phrase  can  be  correctly  used  by  a  Ca- 
tholic) may  be  extinguished  in  blood  or  destroyed  by.  schism,  the  ec- 
clesiasUeal  history  of  Western  Asia,  of  Northern  Africa,  of  some  of 
the  German  States,  of  England,  of  SoandinaTia,  all  instruct  us.  That 
the  total  extinction  of  the  Irish  Church  was  the  darling  design  cher^ 
ished  by  generation  after  generation  of  the  greatest  ministers  of  a  great 
Empire,  British  history  exists  to  prove.  The  heroic  constancy  of  the 
Irish  Catholics  is  tue  very  epic  of  chivalrous  resistance  to  arbitrary 
power,  and  one  of  the  freshest  episodes  in  that  epic,  is  the  life  of  the 
late  able  and  apostolic  Bishop  of  Dorry,  which  I  have  undertaken,  at 
the  request  of  his  nearest  surviving  relations,  to  write. 

The  part  taken  by  that  courageous  churchman  is  much  enhanced  in 
importance  by  recollecting  the  Province  in  which  it  was  played.  Old 
Ulster  had  resisted  "  tlie  Reformation"  with  iron  fortitude,  and  had 
paid  the  penalty :  its  six  fair  counties  were  confiscated  by  one  stroke 
of  the  first  James*  pen ;  its  nine  venerable  cathedrals  were  given  over 
to  the  new  sectaries  ;  its  once  famous  schools  of  Armagh  and  Bangor 
were  overthrown  and  obliterated.  Presbyterian  communities  were 
chartered  and  privileged,  to  hold  the  passes  and  ports  of  the  Province ; 
the  Kirk,  struggling  for  its  existence  in  Scotland  against  kingly  theo- 
ries of  conformity,  was  a  recognized  and  favored  step-child  of  the 
State  from  its  first  plantation  in  Ulster.  Its  rigid  discipline  and  econ- 
omical ministry  were  not  ill  suited  to  a  half  mercantile,  half  martial 


\ 


I 


PREFACE. 


population,  so  fond  of  thrift  and  of  its  profits,  that  they  would  almost 
begrudge  to  Ood  the  decorations  of  His  temple.  Its  minipt^rs,  how- 
ever, sprung  from  the  ranks  of  their  own  hearers,  and  bound  to  them 
by  the  double  ties  of  authority  and  dependence,  have  always  shown 
themselves  in  the  day  of  danger  in  the  front  of  the  popular  battle. 
Against  King  James  II.  they  fought  as  in  Cromwell's  time,  marshaled 
the  multitude,  and  gallantly  partook  of  all  their  dangers.  It  was  a 
stirring  and  affecting  sight,  however  we  may  view  it — those  two  small 
towns  standing  out  against  a  people  in  arms.  They  held  out  long 
enough  to  give  King  William  an  immense  material  and  moral  advan^ 
tage,  to  demonstrate  the  military  incapacity  of  King  James,  and  to 
enroll  their  obscure  names  among  tlte  most  famous  localities  of  Irish 
or  of  Imperial  story.* 

The  silence  of  death  succeeded  the  din  of  that  dreadful  struggle. 
The  remnant  of  the  natives  who  could  not  emigrate  deserted  the  open 
country,  and.  courted  the  safer  obscurity  of  the  remotest  woods  and 
glens.  The  only  sound  which  breaks  the  fearful  stillness  is  the  din  of 
an  infitnt  Trade  within  the  walls  of  the  victorious  towns,  the  monoto- 
nous chants  of  the  Kirk,  or  the  imperative  accents  of  the  garrisons. 
From  monklcBS  Mellifont  to  dismantled  Donegal,  there  is  neither  native 
church  nor  native  chief.  The  Erne  and  the  Banu  flow  on  through 
peaceful  valleys — ^peaceful  as  death.  In  the  halls  of  Dungannon,  upon 
the  towers  of  Shane's  Castle,  there  is  neither  warder  nor  servitor,  nei- 
ther hospitable  nor  martial  fire,  neither  sound  of  harp  nor  clang  of 
trumpet.  Nothing  remains  for  the  protection  of  the  hapless  remnant 
of  the  Gael,  outlawed  on  their  own  soil,  but  the  fame  of  their  strug- 
gle, or  the  wild  vengeance  of  the  maddened  Raparee,  pouncing  by 
night  on  his  long-watched  Presbyterian  prey.  Neither  Scot  nor  Saxon 
fully  believes  his  own  boast  that  the  spirit  of  the  old  race  is  broken. 
The  cautious  drysalters  and  oordwainArs  of  Derry,  making  their  way 
in  cavalcade  from  town  to  town,  put  up  at  every  turn  in  the  road  the 
timorous  petition,  "  From  wolves  and  woodkerne,  good  Lord  deliver 
us!" 

This  fearful  and  chilling  peace  gradually  gives  way  to  one  more 
stirring  and  lifelike.    Both  parties  multiply  and  grow  stronger — the 


*  One  of  the  preltminary  measnres  of  the  Defenders  of  Derry  in  1689  was  to  tnrs 
the  few  Catholics  oat  of  the  town,  together  with  a  Oonvent  of  Dominicans,  lately 
tolerated  within  the  walls.— Da.  E.  0AHx'B*JA0OBm  Ann  WiLUAinrB  Wabs,  Past  I. 


PREFACE. 


XI 


natives  most  qtiickly.  As  the  Protestant  population  inereases  in  nnm> 
ber  and  wealth,  so  does  its  power  and  pretensions.  The  Parliament 
fosters  its  linen  trade  with  bounties ;  the  State  Choroh  eonniyes  at  its 
non-eonformity ;  the  Sovereign  enlarges  its  eharters.  Plain  old  Derry 
becomes  Londonderry,  a  royal  regiment  is  named  after  Enniskillen. 
and  the  ''Apprentice  Boys"  annually  flatter  themselves  that  they,  and 
not  the  British  Whigs,  made  the  Revolution.  Jaundiced  egotism  be- 
comes Orangeism,  for  in  worshipping  the  deliverer  they  glorify  them- 
selves— a  ceremonial  they  cultivate  to  their  hearts'  content.  From 
every  northern  steeple,  on  the  1st  and  12th  of  July,  the  yellow  flag  is 
spread  and  the  church  bells  ring  out;  from  every  loyal  terrace,  loud 
guns  proclaim  the  invidious  triumph  of  the  favored  few  over  the  land- 
less many^  On  those  days  the  enthusiasm  of  the  pulpit  in  the  morn- 
ing prepares  men's  minds  for  the  enthusiasm  of  the  tavern  at  night 
Panegyrics  on  bloody  deeds  delivered  in  the  name  of  religion,  stimu- 
late to  those  deeds  of  blood,  without  which  the  night  seldom  passes 
away.  Some  poor  stray  Papist  or  obnoxious  neighbor  is  often  the  se- 
.ected  aim  for  an  undischarged  musket  and  a  drunken  bigotry.  Still 
tie  descendants  of  the  victors  of  1689  have  not  had  everything  their 
o\(n  way  in  Ulster  these  many  years  back.  The  older  population 
multiplied  in  virtuous  poverty,  and  learning  economy  in  adversity, 
spread  gradually  back  into  the  fields  of  their  fathers  and  the  towns  of 
their  enemies.  They  toiled,  they  bore,  they  suffered  much.  The  value 
of  labor  rose  in  the  Province  with  the  increase  of  its  staple  trade  ;  that 
trade  expanded  into  a  commerce,  that  commerce  gradually  liberalized 
those  engaged  in  it.  The  borderers  of  the  two  races  partially  inter- 
mixing, or  at  least  reciprocally  influencing  each  other,  produced  that 
powerful  compound  character  known  in  the  United  States  as  "  Scotch 
Irish,"  which  asserted  itd  individuality  not  less  conspicuously  at  Phil- 
adelphia in  '76  than  at  Dungannon  in  '82.  But  the  majority  of  each 
kept  apart,  and  till  this  day  continue  apart,  separated  by  a  hostile  his- 
torical inheritance,  by  deep-seated  social  disparities  and  irreconcileable 
religious  differences. 

The  policy  of  the  chief  governors  of  Ireland  at  last  yielded  a  par- 
tial toleration  to  the  Catholics.  Thatched  chapels  succeeded  to  dri[»- 
ping  caves,  and  the  precarious  pilgrimage  of  tbe  poor  scholar  gave 
place  to  the  more  regular  and  respectable  education  at  Maynooth. 
From  the  political  fountain  of  the  capital,  the  new  and  juster  spirit 


\ 


xu 


PBBFAOE. 


•pread  slowly  over  the  provinees.  The  landed  proprietors  of  the  see* 
end  and  third  generations,  having  the  fear  of  the  grim  Sir  Phelim  no 
longer  before  their  eyes,  began  to  riral  in  prodigality  the  old  ohiefk 
they  had  displaeed,  and  whose  praises  were  still  snng  aronnd  them. 
The  tunefnl  Jacobite,  Thnrlogh  O'Carolan,  was  a  guest  as  weleome  at 
Moneyglass  and  Castle  Archdale  as  at  Alderford  or  Castle  Eelley. 
The  new  lords  of  Cavan  and  Fermanagh  were  proof  to  his  politics  but 
not  to  his  melody ;  they  might  dislike  him  as  a  Catholic,  bnt  they 
were  proud  of  him  as  a  countryman.  The  fairest  hands  in  their  halls 
brought  the  matchless  harp  and  filled  the  consoling  cup  for  the  Bard, 
whose  errant  ways  and  blinded  eyes  aptly  illustrated  the  mental  con- 
dition of  a  country  where  the  old  ciTi}ization  had  been  extinguished 
before  the  new  one  was  bom,  whose  altars  were  down,  whose  tradi- 
tions  were  lost,  whose  ancient  paths  were  obliterated,  and  for  which 
there  seemed  no  escape,  no  deliverance  out  of  the  vicious  circle  of 
clear-headed  injustice  and  incapacity  entailed.  Socially,  the  new  gen- 
try had  grown  more  tolerant  and  tolerable,  but  po!itic  ally,  as  the 
last  years  of  the  Irish  Parliament  proved,  they  hated  the  religion 
of  the  vast  majority  of  their  fellow  countrymen  as  intensely  as  ever 
did  the  Walkers  and  the  Wolseys  during  the  wai  of  King  Wiliam  and 
King  James. 

In  this  Province,  in  this  state  and  period  of  society,  about  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Catholic  Restoration,  the  late  Dr.  Maginn's  lot  was 
cast.  He  was  bom  of  an  orthodox  stock  ;  he  grew  up  among  a  gal- 
lant and  pious,  but  rash  and  much-abused  peasantry;  he  retired 
from  amongst  them  for  a  time,  to  reappear  again  with  the  highest  au- 
thority upon  their  altars.  We  will  see  him  planning  and  laboring  in 
lakebound  Innishowen,  and  within  the  walls  of  "  the  maiden  city,"  as 
Priest  and  Leader,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  All  who  have  patience 
to  peruse — 

**The  short  and  simple  snnals  of  the  poor," 

will  witness  how  traly  he  approved  himself  the  father  of  his  flock. 
His  public  spirit,  his  moral  courage,  his  thorough  identity  with  the 
country,  his  fervid  eloquence,  his  unwearied  industry,  his  application 
to  details,  made  him,  in  some  sort,  the  judge  and  legislator  of  his 
people.  His  external  influence  was  limited  by  bis  enjoyment  of  the 
episcopal  dignity  to  three  short  years.  Tet  in  these  three  years  he 
undoubtedly  did  arduous  and  honorable  things,  never  sparing  mind 


FBEFACE. 


Xlll 


or  body,  purM  or  penon,  where  duty  called  or  conseienee  pointed.  In 
the  prime  and  height  of  his  life,  he  sank  suddenly  into  the  grare,  la- 
mented by  his  own  nation,  and  regretted  by  all  those  throaghoot 
Christendom  who  take  any  interest  in  the  Catholic  aflhira  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland. 

Of  the  works  and  days  of  this  excellent  person,  I  hare  told  in  the 
following  pages  all  I  could  glean,  from  the  yery  interesting  papers 
committed  to  me  for  that  purpose,  by  the  surviving  members  of  his 
family. 


Niw  YoRff,  St.  B<idobt*s  DAr,*1857. 


.V 


V 


^ 


.i^ 


LIFE  OF  RT.  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


■♦*•- 


CHAPTER  I. 


BIRTH  AND  FAMILY  OF  DR.  MAGINN — HIS  FIRST  TEACHER— STUDIES 
AT  THE  IRISH  COLLEGE,  FARIS— ORDAINED  IN  IRELAND — ^AFFOINTBD 
CURATE  OF  MOVILLE  —  BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  INISHOWEN  —  **  THB 
DERRT  discussion"— CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION — MR.  MAGINN  AP- 
POINTED PARISH  PRIEST.     ■ 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  there  lived 
in  the  parish  of  Fintona,  county  Tyrone,  Ireland,  a  Ca- 
tholic farmer  named  Patrick  Maginn.  He  married  in 
eariy  life  Mary  Slevin,  by  whom  he  had  already  seven 
children,  when,  on  the  16th  day  of  December,  1802,  an 

eighth  was  bom  to  them.    To  this  child  they  gave  in  bap- 
tism the  name  of  Edward. 

The  Maginns  and  Slevins  were  commonly  ^oken  of, 
in  that  country,  as  "  levitical  families."    For  many  gene- 

1 


2 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


rations  each  had  given  Priests  to  the  altar,  and  teachers 
to  the  collegiate  chair.  When  the  dense  clouds  of  the 
penal  days  rested  on  Ulster,  the  youths  of  those  houses, 
unterrified  by  the  cheerless  prospect  of  such  a  life,  trav- 
eled to  the  continent  to  store  their  minds  with  divine 
knowledge,  and  to  fit  themselves  for  Holy  Orders.  Our 
subject's  granduncle,  Eev.  Patrick  Maginn,  was  for  fifty- 
three  years  Parish  Priest  of  Monaghan ;  his  uncle,  Eev. 
John  Maginn,  was  Parish  Priest  of  Fahan  and  Deserte- 
gny  for  forty  years,  and  in  his  latter  days  Archdeacon  of 
Deny ;  another  uncle  of  Maginn's  died  a  Priest  in  France, 
having  obtained  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Sorbonne  at  a 
very  early  age.  Among  his  maternal  relatives,  vocations 
were  equally  common.  It  is  sufficient  to  mention  Eev. 
Patrick  Slevin,  Pastor  of  the  ancient  Dromore,  and  Dr. 
Nicholas  Slevin,  one  of  the  first  and  most  eminent  Pro- 
fessors of  Maynooth  College.*  The  blood  of  these  two 
fevored  famihes,  rich  in  holiness,  was  destined  to  meet 
and  mingle  in  the  capacious  heart  and  brain  of  the  future 
Bishop  of  Derry.  That  the  name  he  bore  and  the  tradi- 
tions which  made  it  so  dear,  exercised  a  powerful  influ- 
«ice  on  the  whole  career  of  Edward  Maginn,  we  may 
infer  fix)m  the  glowing  words  of  the  letter  to  Lord  Stan- 

*  A  third  uncle  Slevtn,  after  finishing  his  ecclesiastical  studies  in  the 
Irish  College  at  Rome,  fled  from  the  city  on  the  seizure  of  Pope  Pius 
YI.  by  the  French.  He  subsequently  became  a  Medical  Doctor,  an  1 
"  was  considered  one  of  the  most  universal  scholars  of  his  iaj.^-— -Let- 
ter of  the  Rev.  P.  Devlin,  of  Buncrana. 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAQINN. 


8 


ley  in  vindication  of  the  Confessional,  which  he  wrote  in 
the  second  last  year  of  his  life.  Speaking  of  the  loyalty 
of  "confessing  Catholics"  to  the  Stuarts  generally,  and 
to  Charles  II.  in  particular,  he  demands: — "Who,  my 
lord,  was  among  the  first  to  welcome  the  royal  refugee  to 
the  shores  of  France? — an  Irish  friar,  my  own  name- 
sake, afterwards  chaplain  to  the  queen-mother,  Henrietta. 
The  hard  earnings  of  a  long  life,  which  he  kept  by  him 
for  the  pious  purpose  of  educating  for  the  holy  ministry 
his  proscribed  race  at  home,  on  bended  knees,  with  the 
generous  devotion  of  an  Irish  heart,  he  poured  into  the  lap 
of  poor  exiled  royalty.  So  much,  my  lord,  for  an  Irish, 
denouncing,  confessing,  secret-keeping  Christian  friar.  The 
same  was  afterwards  the  founder  of  the  Irish  College  of 
the  Lombards,  which  supplied  Ireland  for  centuries  with 
priests  and  martyrs,  who  kept  the  faith,  and  mark  you, 
my  lord,  loyalty  alive,  in  spite  of  the  united  efforts  of 
the  powers  of  darkness  and  of  your  non-confessing  Chris- 
tians to  extinguish  both."  This  generous  "  Irish  friar" 
is  further  stated  to  have  been  "  one  of  his  own  family,"* 
and  we  will  by-and-bye  see  the  author  of  this  tribute  to 
his  virtues,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  that  far-seeing  charity 
which  provided,  in  the  evil  days,  a  school  for  the  educa- 
tion of  outlawed  Irish  students  in  the  capital  of  France. 
While  yet  a  child  of  four  years  old,  the  parents  of 
Edward  Maginn  removed  from  Fintona  to  Buncrana,  on 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  John  McLaughlin,  of  Derry. 


i    . 


LIFB  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGIKN. 


the  romantic  shore  of  Lough  Swilly,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  became  domesticated  with  his  granduncle,  the 
aged  Pastor  of  Monnghan.  At  the  knee  of  that  venera- 
ble teacher,  spoken  of  as  ''  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
scholars  and  gentlemen  of  hi.i  time,"*  he  learned  his  first 
lessons.  He  had  for  a  fellv)w-pupil,  and  retained  as  a 
life-long  friend,  Dr.  McNally,  the  present  Bishop  of  Clo- 
gher.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  Irish  reader 
that  in  these  comparatively  recent  days  the  houses  of 
Priests  and  Bishops  were  the  only  Diocesan  seminaries, 
their  masters  the  only  teachers  of  postulants  for  the 
Priesthood,  and  the  well- worn  school-books  which  had,  a 
century  earlier,  served  the  purposes  of  one  generation, 
survived  to  supply  the  wants  of  a  second  and  a  third. 

The  young  Maginn,  after  seven  or  eight  years  with  his 
Monaghan  uncle,  rejoined  his  parents  in  Innishowen, 
and  pursued  his  studies  until  his  sixteenth  year  with  a 
Mr.  Thomas  McColgan  of  Clonmany,  near  Buncrana,  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Paris.  Fortunate,  but  not 
singular  in  that  singular  land,  was  his  lot  in  meeting 
with  such  a  teacher  I  In  that  stormy  region  where  the 
song-bird  gives  place  the  greater  part  of  the  year  to  the 
sea-bird,  and  the  deep  boom  of  the  minute-gun  is  a  fre- 
quent sound  by  night,  who  would  have  looked  under 
the  thatch  of  an  Innishowen  cabin,  for  a  graduate  of  Pa- 
ris ?    Yet  so  it  was.    The  honored  "  master"  who  taught 

Letter  of  Rev.  Philip  Devlin,  of  Bnnorana; 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWABD  ICAOINN. 


in  that  sea-side  hut  had  won  many  a  prize  in  the  halls 
or  the  most  famous  University  of  Europe.  He  had  la- 
in the  mine  of  the  ancients  and  in  the  depths  of 
science  for  ten  long  years,  until  his  eye  grew 
and  his  memory  clouded  and  confused.  Subject  to 
occasional  fits  of  insanity,  he  could  not,  of  course,  be 
admitted  to  Holy  Orders,  and  as  the  most  suitable  second 
choice,  he  chose  the  part  of  a  classical  teacher  in  his  na* 
tive  regions,  where  the  reverence  of  the  poor  was  his 
best  protection.  In  his  enthusiasm  for  learning,  which 
survived  every  shock  and  battle  of  the  brain,  he  might, 
without  much  extravagance,  have  fancied  himself  ano- 
ther Fintan  of  Moville,  from  whom  the  new  Saint  Co- 
lumba,  in  the  person  of  the  docile,  eager,  spotless  youth 
of  Fintona,  was  to  imbibe  all  human  and  divine  learning.* 
At  the  age  of  sixteen,  our  subject  left  Ireland  for  Pa- 
ris, and  entered  the  Irish  College,  on  the  maintenance 
known  in  that  institution  as  "  the  Maginn  bourse."  The 
College  was  then  presided  over  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Eyan, 
who  styles  himself  "  Administrator  of  Irish  ecclesiastical 
establishments  in  France."  Of  its  faculty  were  the  Abbe 
Kearney,  who,  with  the  better  known  Abbe  Edgeworth, 
had  escorted  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  to  the  scaffold, 
and  whose  reminiscences  of  the  first  revolution,  when  he 

*  Mr.  MoColgan  "  could  reckon  among  his  students  almost  all  the 
distinguished  clergy  of  Derry  and  the  neighboring  dioceses  ;  among 
bhem  the  late  Dr.  Montague,  President  of  Maynooth  College. — Letter 
jf  Rev.  P.  Devlin,  before  quoted. 


6 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


chose  to  indulge  in  them,  are  pronounced  by  a  recent 
writer  to  have  been  most  ample  and  interesting.* 

The  Irish  College  at  Paris  possesses  many  claimt  ti^ 
the  affectionate  remembrance  and  respect  of  all  Iriamieii. 
Originallj  founded  with  the  sanction  of  the  exiled  Stuarts, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Bourbons,  it  was  necessarily  a 
very  loyal  and  legitimist  institution.  It  possessed,  from 
the  accident  of  its  location,  a  patriotic  as  well  as  a  royal- 
ist influence.  Every  Irish  soldier  in  the  service  of  France 
some  time  or  other  came  to  see  its  inmates ;  every  Irish 
tourist,  especially  if  a  Catholic  and  a  patriot,  was  desirous 
to  be  introduced  to  its  faculty.  In  its  library  were  de- 
posited some  valuable  relics  of  our  Celtic  literature,  car- 
ried abroad  in  the  Jacobite  exodus,  and  destined  to  be 
resorted  to,  after  many  days,  by  such  zealous  students  as 
the  Abbe  McGeoghegan  and  the  Chevalier  O'Gorman. 
In  1792  it  shared  the  fate  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  institu- 
tions of  France — ^was  confiscated  and  closed;  with  the 
consent  of  the  Consuls  it  was  reopened  as  a  secular  acad- 
emy, having  the  Abbe  McDermott  for  principal,  and  Eu- 
gene Beauhamais  and  Jerome  Buonaparte  among  its 
scholars.  The  studies  were  wholly  unlike  those  designed 
for  its  inmates  by  the  original  founders.  The  practice 
of  religion  had  not  yet  "  been  tolerated."  Voltaire  and 
Rouseau  were  more  read  than  sacred  history.     On  the 

*  "  Reminiscenoes  of  an  Emigrant  Milesian,"  (Nev  York,  Appleton 
&  Co.,  1855,)  p.  247. 


LIFB  OF  RIGHT  REY.  EDWARD  HAQINN.  7 

restoration  of  the  Bourbons  this  school  wafi  fully  restored, 
and  has  ever  since  remained  sacred  to  theological  studies. 
Its  importance  in  that  respect,  to  the  insulated  church  it 
recruited  and  sustained  in  the  worst  of  times,  can  hardly 
be  exaggerated. 

In  this  College  the  young  Maginn  spent  seven  labori- 
ous years.  Of  the  faculty  at  that  time  very  little  is 
known,  except  that  they  were  frequently  changed.  The 
first  class  of  students  was  small,  but  several  of  them 
were  afterwards  distinguished.  Dr.  O'Higgins,  subse- 
quently Bishop  of  Ardagh,  was  among  the  Professors; 
Archdeacon  Hamilton  of  Dublin,  Dean  Gaflfney  of  May- 
nooth,  Dr.  Kirby,  and  Dr.  Maginn  were  students.  As  a 
scholar.  Dr.  Maginn  was  remarkable  for  ardor  and  appli- 
cation, frequently  sitting  up  all  night  to  conquer  a  diffi- 
culty.* The  usual  theological  treatises  he  mastered 
easily,  but  his  curiosity  would  seem  to  have  led  him  both 
in  classics  and  history  far  beyond  the  prescribed  range 
of  acquirement.  In  the  years  1823,  '24  and  '25,  he  re- 
ceived successively  from  the  hands  of  Monseigneur  Louis 
Hyacinth  de  Quelen,  Archbishop  of  Paris,  tonsure  and 
minor  orders ;  but  his  health  failed  him  in  the  last  named 
year,  and  he  was  not  immediately  ordained  Priest.  From 
the  same  cause  he  declined  the  earnest  invitation  of  the 
Bishop  of  Meaux,  to  accept  a  benefice  in  his  diooescf 

*  Letter  of  the  Rev.  J.  McDevitt,  of  Caldaff. 
t  Letter  of  the  Rev.  J.  MoLangblin,  of  Derry. 


8 


LIFE  or  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


:  i: 


His  ill  health  continuing,  he  left  Paris,  in  June,  1825,  for 
his  native  country,  bringing  with  him  a  highly  honorable 
testimonial,  addressed  to  tlie  Rt.  Rev.  Peter  McLaughlin, 
of  Deny.  "  His  coniluct,"  wrote  Dr.  Ryan,  "  has  been 
most  exemplary,  and  his  talents  conspicuous." 

On  visiting  his  uncle.  Professor  Slevin,  at  Maynooth, 
the  latter  strongly  recommended  his  return  to  Paris,  to 
contest  a  chair  in  his  Alma  Mater;  but  the  Bishop  whose 
subject  he  was,  took  a  different  view  of  his  duties — raised 
him  to  the  Priesthood  the  same  year  (1825)  and  appointed 
him  to  the  curacy  of  Moville,  on  the  Lough  Foyle  side 
of  Innishowen. 

The  barony  of  Innishowen  covers  that  remarkable 
peninsula  of  the  north  of  Ireland,  flanked  by  Lough 
Swilly  and  Lough  Foyle,  and  terminating  in  the  lofty 
double  landmark  of  Bunaff  and  Malin  Head.  K  Ulstei 
may  well  be  called  the  most  persecuted  Province  of  Ire- 
land, Innishowen  may  contend  for  the  honor  of  being 
the  most  persecuted  portion  of  Ulster.  A  natural  mili» 
tary  base,  easily  occupied  and  supplied  from  the  sea,  it 
plays  an  important  part  throughout  all  the  religious  wars 
of  Ireland.  Culmore,  on  the  opposite  entrance  to  the 
Foyle,  Deny,  at  the  head  of  the  harbor,  and  the  several 
strong  castles  of  Innishowen,  were  vital  points  of  attack 
and  defence  for  twenty  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign.  Its 
hardy  population  adhered,  through  that  unequal  contest, 
to  the  gallant  Earls  of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell,  the  joint 


LIFE  OF  KIOUT  REV.  XDWARD  MAOINN. 


9 


leaders  of  the  Cutliolic  forces.     The  minute-guns  of  the 
storm-tost  Annudu  echoed  among  their  rocks  and  caves, 
and  when,  at  last,  nothing  was  left  the  veteran  Tyrone 
but  ignoble  submission  or  sudden  flight,  it  was  from 
Lough  Swilly  ho  sailed  away  in  search  of  aid  from  allies 
whose  policy  he  had  served,  but  who  refused,  in  turn,  to 
subserve  his.     In  this  same  rocky  angle  of  the  north,  in 
the  reign  of  King  James  I.,  the  youthftil  Sir  Cahir  O'Do- 
herty  rose,  at  the  head  of  his  clansmen  and  kinsmen,  in 
1608,  to  resist  the  wholesale  confiscation  of  the  Province. 
For  five  months  he  was  completely  successful,  driving 
Sir  George  Paulet  from  Derry,  and  seizing  Culmore ;  but 
in  an  unguarded  hour,  the  bullet  of  a  Scottish  settler 
struck  him  down,  and  his  disheartened  followers  dispersed 
to  seek  such  safety  as  their  fastnesses  afforded  them. 
This  earlier  Emmett  left  a  memory  not  less  dear  among 
his  native  hills  and  glens.    Deserted  by  his  yoimg  Nor- 
man wife  in  the  hour  of  his  adversity,  a  victim  to  the  as- 
sassin's aim  at  three  and  twenty,  his  story  was  complete 
in  all  those  romantic  details  which  attract  the  fancy  and 
take  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  a  simple  and  intrepid  peo- 
ple.   Though  their  firesides,  on  long  winter  nights,  had 
many  another  tale  of  Orange  and  Cromwellian  conflict, 
the  favorite  topic,  even  still,  is  the  death  of  Sir  Cahir. 

The  only  other  story  of  the  scene  which  approached  it 
in  fearfulness  of  interest,  was  Ihe  martyrdom  of  a  former 


10 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


Maginn  relate  in  his  own  language.  Addressing  himself 
to  Lord  Stanley,  in  defence  of  the  character  of  his  peo- 
ple:— "I  write  to  you,"  (he  says,)  from  a  diocese  in 
which,  although  there  be  in  it  230,000  Catholic  souls — 
more  than  twice  as  many  as  of  any  other  creed — and  also 
100  Priests  instructing  this  number,  there  has  never  been 
hitherto,  to  my  knowledge,  a  single  murder  of  any  pro- 
prietor. I  write  to  yoii  also  from  a  parish  where  the 
Catholics  are  twelve  to  one,  and  where  there  has  been 
much  suffering  among  a  Catholic  population  of  10,000 
spread  over  an  area  of*  60,000  acres — all  of  course  savage 
Irish,  or  vermin,  if  you  please ;  and  yet  there  has  not 
been  among  them,  in  the  memory  of  man,  a  single  mur- 
der. The  only  one  that  tradition  hands  down  to  us  is 
the  murder  of  a  parish  Priest  of  this  union,  and  Dean  of 
the  diocese  of  Derry,  Dr.  O'Hegarty.  He  was  dragged 
from  a  mountain  cavern — ^his  hiding-place  by  day  (by 
night  only  could  he  appear  in  those  times,  commune  with 
his  flock,  instruct  the  living,  console  the  dying,  and  bury 
the  dead),  and  was  butchered  on  a  rock  on  the  banks  of 
the  Swilly,  which  shall  ever  be  memorable  from  this 
bloody  tragedy.  The  perpetrator  of  this  murder  was  a 
Captain  Vaughan,  the  son  of  an  English  colonel  who 
served  in  the  army  of  Oliver  Cromwell  (as  Carlyle  would 
say)  of  blessed  memory.  The  good  Captain  believed  he 
was  doing  the  work  of  God,  when  imbruing  his  hands  in 


D  MAGINN. 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


11 


the  blood  of  Popish  Priests,  as  many  now  believe  they 
are  doing  the  same  holy  work  in  calumniating  them." 

For  such  a  people  the  young  Missionary  Priest  was 
well  qualified  by  nature  and  education.  Enthusiastic  by 
temperament,  fearless  in  danger,  no  respecter  of  persons, 
official  or  officious,  an  impassioned  patriot,  an  ardent 
lover  of  the  faithful  peasantry,  fond  of  oral  controversy, 
of  simple  and  accessible  habits,  well  versed  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  soil,  partial  to  the  ballads  and  the  innocent 
amusements  of  his  flock,  he  soon  became  the  darling  of 
the  romantic  old  Barony.  All  his  cotemporaries  speak 
of  his  personal  intercourse  and  his  priestly  labors,  from 
the  very  beginning,  with  thorough  admiration.  "  A  se- 
ries of  controversial  sermons,"  writes  one  of  these  vene- 
rable men,  "preached  in  the  chapels  of  Moville,  where 
he  had  been  recently  appointed  curate,  first  brought  him 
before  the  public.  There  it  was  I  first  saw  him,  and  saw 
with  admiration  the  boldness  and  self-reliance  manifested 
even  in  the  placards  published  to  call  the  people  together. 
I  never  heard  any  of  those  sermons,  but  fi*om  all  I  have 
heard  from  others  they  were  probably  his  very  best  ef- 
forts."* "Here  he  continued,"  writes  another,  "until 
the  year  1829.  His  labors,  his  zeal,  his  sermons  during 
this  interval  were  very  great."f    In  the  same  strain 

*  Letter  of  the  Rev.  C.  Flanagan,  of  Coleraine. 
t  Letter  of  the  Rev.  J.  McLaughlin,  of  Derry. 


12 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


speak  all  who  knew  and  heard  him  in  those  days,  while 
his  scholastic  armor  was  yet  bright  from  the  forge,  and 
his  maiden  sword  turned  aside  from  no  encounter,  what- 
ever the  odds  arrayed  against  him. 

Between  the  years  1824  and  '28,  Ireland  was  visited 
by  one  of  those  angry  squalls  of  controversy  which 
spring  up  so  suddenly  in  the  troubled  recesses  of  the 
Protestant  conscience,  and  rage  for  a  season  with  such  ir- 
rational violence.  A  formidable  attempt  was  made — ^for 
the  hundredth  time  at  least — ^to  o^  erthrow  the  Church 
of  Saint  Patrick,  and  to  establish  the  Church  of  England 
in  its  stead.  The  mistaken  benevolence  of  English  sec- 
tarians and  the  blinded  zeal  of  the  Irish  landlords 
combined  to  supply  the  funds,  and  Exeter  Hall  furnished 
or  equipped  the  missionaries.  The  principal  of  these 
were  Captain  Gordon,  a  descendant  of  the  lordly  rioter 
of  1780,  the  Eev.  Messrs.  Irving,  Baptist  Noel,  McNeile, 
Stowell  and  Wolff— all  English ;  the  Hon.  and  Eev.  Sir 
Harcourt  Lees,  Eev.  Mr.  Pope,  and  Eev.  Messrs.  O'Sulli- 
van  and  O'Phelan,  Irish.  Among  the  Irish  landlords, 
Lords  Eoden,  Lorton,  and  Famham  were  their  most 
active  patrons.  In  the  cities,  the  Corporators  being  ex- 
clusively Protestant,  extended  to  them  every  indulgence 
and  protection.  To  sustain  the  crusade  with  funds  and 
tracts,  "Bible  Societies"  and  "Eeformation  Societies" 
were  established  in  the  principal  cities  of  both  kingdoms ; 
periodical  returns  were  made  and  given  to  the  public, 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


18 


Les 


with  many  confident  assurances  of  the  speedy  conversion 
of  Ireland. 

The  Irish  Prelates  on  whose  dioceses  these  vaunting 
Propagandists  first  entered,  forbade  Iheir  clergy  to  meet 
them  in  public  discussion.  They  reminded  them  that 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  were  not,  for  Catholics,  fit 
subjects  of  debate ;  they  cited  the  dictum  of  Saint  Au- 
gustine to  the  Pelagians — Causa  finita  est;  they  showed 
there  was  no  earthly  tribunal  to  decide  in  such  contro- 
versies, except  that  which  the  impugners  at  the  outset 
ignored ;  they  therefore  recommended  that  no  notice  be 
taken  of  the  ostentatious  challengers  who  paraded  the 
country.  This  was  the  course  recommended  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Armagh,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Doyle,  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Murphy,  Bishop  of  Cork,  and  other  Prelates. 
At  Cork,  the  missionaries  were  encountered,  not  by  the 
Clergy,  but  by  O'Connell  and  Shiel,  then  in  the  heyday 
of  their  popularity  and  reputation.  At  Carlow,  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  McSweeney,  Maher  and  others,  felt  justified  in 
openly  confronting  them ;  at  Monaghan  a  few  uneducated 
laymen — ^taken  from  the  humblest  of  the  peasantry — 
maintained  the  discussion,  with  amazing  natural  ability, 
for  several  days,  and  were  finally  awarded  the  "«dctory 
by  a  bench  of  Protestant  judges.  In  Cavan  the  mission- 
aries boasted  of  their  highest  success,  while  in  Ulster, 
generally,  they  looked  for  "  a  walk-over." 

The  rage  for  proselytism  had  continued  in  Derry  for 


14 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINX. 


m 


two  or  three  years,  and  the  Episcopalian  gentry  and 
clergy  openly  proclaimed  their  triumph.  The  Cathoho 
Bishop,  swayed  by  the  reasons  which  had  influenced  his 
brother  Prelates,  recommended  his  Clergy  not  to  notice 
the  defiances  daily  issued  to  them.  But  the  circumstances 
of  the  locality  were  peculiar,  and  considerations  all-pow- 
erful elsewhere,  were  thought  by  many  to  be  but  second- 
ary in  Derry.  Four  generations  had  passed  away  since 
CathoUc  and  Protestant  had  combatted  on  that  ground. 
The  material  victory  had  been  with  the  Protestant,  and 
his  descendants  gloried  in  the  inl  eritance  of  their  con- 
quest. The  descendants  of  the  vanquished  had  multi- 
plied and  regained  a  par  u  of  their  old  inheritance ;  social 
ambition  began  to  stir  in  their  breasts,  and  it  was  no 
longer  quite  safe  to  treat  them  with  indignity.  There 
was  need  of  a  triumph  for  them ;  there  was  need  of  a 
lesson  to  the  Ascendancy.  The  Bishop's  Pastoral  threw 
a  gloom  upon  their  path,  and  murmurs,  not  loud  but 


"  The  Protestant  ministers  took  occasion,  from  a  slight  incident  at 
Maghera,  between  Rev.  J.  McKenna  and  Rev.  Spencer  Enox,  to  chal- 
lenge the  Priests  of  this  diocese  to  a  public  discussion,  which  chal- 
lenge Dr.  McLaughlin  prevented  the  Priests  from  accepting.  The 
sensation  produced  in  the  minds  of  Catholics  and  Protestants  by  Ihis 
prohibition,  was  such  as  I  would  not  wish  ever  to  witness  again,  and 
rendered  it  imperative  on  every  Priest  who  could  open  his  mouth  tc 
come  out  in  defence  of  the  faith.  This  was  an  occasion  such  as  Dr. 
Maginn  loved,  and  the  young  preacher  appeared  in  his  glory."* 


*  Letter  of  Bev.  Mr.  Flanagan,  of  Coloralno. 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


15 


deep,  were  heard  in  every  chapel-yard.    A  Priest  of  the 
diocese,  writing  of  that  time,  remarks : — 

The  particular  events  which  brought  up  this  discussion 
are  related  in  the  Preface  to  the  Authenticated  Eeport, 
published  by  Coyne  (Catholic)  and  Curry,  (Protestant) 
booksellers  of  Dublin,  soon  after  its  conclusion.  This 
introduction,  so  characteristic  of  the  self-restraint  imposed 
by  the  parties  on  themselves,  deserves  to  be  given  una- 
bridged.   It  reads  thus : 

"  The  causes  •which  have  giveu  rise  to  any  publication,  may  in  general 
be  supposed  to  claim  an  interest  in  the  public  attention,  commensu- 
rate, at  least,  to  that  which  the  work  itself  is  calculated  to  produce. 
But  in  a  more  especial  manner,  those  circumstances  will  surely  not  be 
thought  unworthy  of  record,  which  have  suddenly  drawn  forth,  from 
the  quiet  walk  of  professional  duty,  so  many  Ministers  of  the  long 
severed  churches  )f  Rome  and  of  Ireland,  which  have  led  persons, 
hitherto  of  retired  habits,  to  stand  forward  in  the  public  eye  and  ear, 
to  contend  on  those  great  elements  of  faith  and  hope,  on  which  they 
differ.  In  addition,  however,  to  the  desire  ot  gratifying  a  natural 
curiosity  respecting  the  origin  of  the  following  discussion,  the  pub- 
lishers are  anxious  to  give  some  statement  on  the  subject,  because  the 
incidents  connected  with  its  commencement  have  impressed  it  with  a 
character,  and  marked  the  conduct  of  it  with  peculiarities  which,  with- 
out this  previous  knowledge,  it  were  difficult  to  account  for.  The  sud- 
denness and  unpreparedness  with  which  the  parties  were  drawn  into 
this  collision,  have  evidently  deprived  the  discussion  of  that  order, 
symmetry  and  proportion  in  the  disposition  of  the  subjects,  which  a 
little  pre-arrangement  could  so  easily  have  given  to  it.  At  the  same 
time,  this  very  defect  of  previous  order  and  limitation  of  subjecto  may 
have  been  the  means  of  presenting  a  more  varied  and  interesting  field 
of  inquiry,  and  thus  compensating  the  want  of  regularity  by  unfold- 
ing a  more  free  and  excursive  view  of  the  whole  controversy. 

''  The  circumstances  in  which  the  discussion  originated  were  simply 
these.     A  public  meeting  having  been  called  in  the  city  of  London- 


?  ^ 


16 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


derry,  by  the  Reformation  Society,  on  Tuesday,  the  11th  of  March,  1828, 
to  consider  the  propriety  of  establishing  a  branch  of  the  Society  in  that 
place,  Captains  Gordon  and  Vernon  attended  as  a  deputation  at  the 
court-house  on  the  day  named,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  this  object 
into  effect.  A  very  large  number  of  persons  assembled  on  the  occa- 
sion, and  among  others,  some  of  the  clergy  of  the  Established  Church, 
favorable  to  the  institution,  and  some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of 
the  city  and  neighborhood  determined  to  oppose  the  formation  of  the 
Society,  from  a  persuasion  that  the  effect  of  its  establishment  would 
be  evil.  The  consequence  of  all  this  was  a  very  tumultuous  assem- 
bly, insomuch  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  adjourn  the  meeting 
until  the  next  dt.^ ,  ""nd  then  to  limit  the  numbers  admitted  by  issuing 
tickets,  and  charging  a  small  sum  on  each.  On  the  next  day  the  high 
Sheriff,  T.  Kennedy,  Esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair,  in  which,  for  sev- 
eral days,  he  continued  most  courteously,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all,  to  preside.  Notwithstanding  all  the  precautions,  however,  adopted 
on  this  day,  a  still  greater  crowd  of  persons  seemed  to  have  collected 
within  the  great  hall  of  the  court-house,  in  which  a  platform  had  b?cn 
erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  deputation  and  their  friends, 
and  as  the  same  opposition  was  still  given  to  the  formation  of  the  So- 
ciety, and  on  the  same  grounds,  a  similar  scene  of  tumult  to  that  on 
the  preceding  day  was  the  consequence 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  very  unpleasant  conflict  of  opinion,  that 
a  charge  having  been  thrown  out  by  one  of  the  deputation,  and  re- 
peated by  one  of  the  Protestant  clergy  present,  as  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy,  in  their  opposition  to  the  Society  only  wished  to 
avoid  discussion,  a  distinct  declaration  was  made  on  their  part,  that 
their  objection  was  to  the  formation  of  such  Societies  as  that  contem- 
plated ;  but  that  if  the  question  of  the  establishment  of  the  Society 
were  once  disposed  of,  and  the  Protestant  clergy  wei'e  still  anxious  for 
discussion,  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  were  ready  to  enter  on  it  imme- 
diately. This  was  met  on  the  part  of  the  Protestant  clerpv  by  a  frank 
and  ready  avowal  that,  as  their  only  interest  in  the  Sor  lety  arose  from 
the  hope  it  offered  of  promoting  such  a  discussion,  they  would  wil- 
lingly accede  to  any  arrangement  of  the  kind,  A  motion  to  the  above 
effect  having  been  made  by  Dean  Blakely,  and  put  by  the  Chairman 
to  the  meeting,  and  the  general  feeling  seeming  to  be  in  favor  of  the 
proposal,  it  was  finally  arranged  that  the  meeting  of  the  Reformation 


LIFB  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


17 


Society  be  now  adjourned  tint  die,  and  that  a  discussion  on  the  re- 
spectivo  merits  of  the  two  Churches  should  immediately  commence 
between  six  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  six  of  the 
clergy  of  the  Established  Church  of  Ireland. 

Proiettanta. — Rev.  Messrs.  Alexander  Ross,  William  Smyly,  Robert 
Collis,  Mark  Bloxhnm,  Archibald  Boyd,  Robert  Henderson, 

Catholict. — Rev.  Messrs.  Patrick  O'Loughlin,  Francis  Quin,  Alex- 
ander J.  MoCarron,  Edward  Maginn,  Neal  0*Kane,  Simon  McLeer. 

For  the  sake  of  order,  it  was  agreed  that  each  speaker 
should  be  limited  to  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  and  that 
Protestant  and  Catholic  should  be  heard  alternately. 
Accordingly  Mr.  Collis  opened  the  discussion  and  Mr. 
O'Loughlin  closed  it.  From  the  Court  House  it  was  ad- 
journed to  the  old  Cathedral,  which  continued  crowded 
for  twelve  successive  days  by  men  of  all  creeds,  listening 
to  arguments  joro  and  con.,  on  the  Keal  Presence,  on  pri- 
vate judgment,  on  the  canon  of  Scripture,  on  Purgatory 
and  the  marks  of  the  true  Church.  Mr.  Maginn  spoke 
nine  times  during  the  twelve  days,  and  on  every  branch 
of  the  subject.  The  spirit  of  the  debate  may  be  judged 
by  a  passage  from  the  third  day's  discussion,  in  which 
Mr.  Maginn,  in  replying  to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Smyly's  argu- 
ment of  the  day  previous,  said : 

' '  What  sayeth  Christ  1  If  he  heareth  not  the  Church,  let  him  be  unto 
thee  as  a  heathen  and  a  publican. 

"  What  sayeth  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church  1  Whtosoever  heoreth 
the  Church  is  even  worse  than  those  who  are  sitting  in  the  darkness 
and  in  the  shadows  of  death. 

"  What  sayeth  Christ  1  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  and 
lo,  I  am  with  you  all  days,  to  the  consummation  of  the  world. 


18 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


i. 


"What  sayeth  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church?  Every  man  ihall 
teaoh  himself,  and  for  fifteen  hundred  years  and  more,  Christ  has  aban- 
doned his  Church  to  the  most  superstitious  practices  and  to  the  most 
damnable  idolatry. 

"  What  sayeth  Christ  1  On  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  tlie 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it. 

"What  sayeth  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church  1  The 
Church  founded  on  a  rock  has  yielded  to  the  mouldering  hand  of  time, 
and  the  powers  of  darkness  have  razed  its  very  foundation. 

"  What  sayeth  Christ  1  I  shall  send  you  another  Paraclete,  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  who  shall  teach  you  all  truth,  and  remain  with  yon 
forever. 

"  What  sayeth  Mr.  Smyly  ond  his  law  Church  ?  The  Spirit  of  Truth 
has  long  since  abandoned  the  Church's  teaching  to  the  spirit  of  lies  and 
of  error,  and  Satan,  and  not  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  now  sits  at  the  helm 
of  the  religious  bark,  and  guides  it  in  the  storm. 

'•What  sayeth  Christ  1  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost;  whatsoever 
sins  ye  forgive  they  are  forgiven  them,  and  whatsoever  sins  ye  retain 
they  are  retained  to  them. 

"What  sayeth  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church  1  It  is  rank  blas- 
phemy to  assert  that  any  man  has  received,  or  could  receive,  the  power 
of  forgiving  or  of  retaining  sin. 

"  What  sayeth  Christ  with  respect  to  the  Holy  Eucharist  1  This  is 
my  Body,  which  is  delivered  for  you,  and  this  is  my  blood  which  is 
shed  for  you. 

"  What  sayeth  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church  1  No,  it  is  not  your 
body,  but  the  figure  of  your  body  ;  it  is  not  your  blood,  but  the  figure 
of  your  blood. 

"  What  sayeth  Christ  again  1  While  the  bridegroom  is  with  them 
they  should  not  mourn.  But  the  day  shall  come  when  the  bridegroom 
will  be  taken  away  from  them,  and  then  they  shall  fast. 

•*  What  sayeth  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church  1  Fasting  is  a  dead 
work,  opposed  to  the  all-sufficient  merits  of  Christ,  a  Popish  practice  ; 
in  a  word,  unworthy  of  the  true  believer. 

'•  What  sayeth  Christ  by  the  mouth  of  his  beloved  Apostles  1  It 
seemeth  good  to  us  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  not  to  impose  on  you  any 
other  burthen  than  these  necessary  things,  that  you  abstain  from  for- 
nication, and  from  things  suffocated,  and  from  blood. 


LIFE  OF  KIQHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


19 


**  What  sa^^eth  my  friend  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Churoli !    Absti 
nenoc  from  meats  is  the  doctrine  of  devils  and  the  suggestion  of  the 
spirit  of  lies.  ^ 

''  What  snyeth  Christ  by  the  lips  of  the  Apostle  of  nations  ?  He 
that  marrieth  doeth  well,  but  he  that  marrieth  not  dueth  better.  She 
wUp  is  married  mindeth  the  things  how  »he  may  please  her  husband  ; 
she  who  leads  a  single  life  careth  for  those  things  how  she  may  please 
her  God  and  save  her  own  soul,  and  she  is  net  divided. 

•♦  Wliat  soyeth  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Church  1  Whosoever 
marrieth  not  doeth  evil ;  a  vow  of  celibacy  solemnly  made  before  God 
and  before  man  is  not  worthy  of  notice ;  he  that  breaks  it  performs  a 
meritorious  act,  while  he  who  keeps  it  sinneth. 

*'  What  sayeth  Christ  I  If  you  wish  to  enter  into  life,  keep  the  com- 
mandments ;  faith  without  charity  availeth  nothing ;  love  the  lord 
thy  God  with  thy  whole  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself;  do  this 
and  thou  shalt  live. 

••What  sayeth  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyly  and  his  law  Chuich'?  Believe 
and  you  shall  be  saved,  for  by  faith  alone  you  are  justified." 

On  both  sides  the  most  obsequious  courtesy,  backed- 
with  the  most  decided  self-reliance,  or  reliance  on  the 
cause  espoused,  was  exhibited.  As  evidence,  we  may- 
give  Mr.  CoUis's  closing  remarks  on  the  third  day  of  the 
discussion. 

••  My  Roman  Catholic  friends,  if  we  could  onlj%  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
put  this  truth  into  your  hearts  ;  if  we  could  get  you  to  leon  on  Jesus 
Christ,  ond  him  alone,  for  salvation  ;  if  we  could  get  you  to  confide 
solely  in  that  blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  then  would  your 
fondly  invented,  expiating  purgatory  go  to  the  wind,  and  we  should 
hear  no  more  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  indulgences,  extreme  unc- 
tion, prayers  for  the  dead,  and  those  other  fond  things  unchristinnly 
introduced,  and  which  have  no  foundation  or  warranty  in  the  Word 
of  God  ;  then  would  there  be  an  end  of  these  and  such  like  discussions 
among  you  forever.  The  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  in 
the  atoning  righteousness  of  right,  I  now  then  propose,  as  the  great 
feature  and  bulwark  of  Protestantism,  in  contradistinction  to  the  doc- 


ao 


LIFK  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  HAOINN. 


trine  of  human  merit,  worki  cf  anprrerogation,  fto.,  aa  taught  by  the 
Church  of  Uorae.  I  any  that  we  Protestants  put  no  trust  in  good 
works,  as  tending  to  justify  the  sinner,  or  to  assist  the  atoning  right- 
eousness of  the  Saviour  ;  why.  sir,  should  we  endeavor  to  light  up  the 
poar  farthing  taper  of  human  merit,  where  wo  have  the  Suo  of  Right* 
eotisnesB  shining  in  meridian  brightness  in  the  Gospel. 

"  The  golden  beams  of  the  great  luminary  of  nature  are  now  shin- 
ing resplendent  upon  us,  could  we  think  of  assisting  the  illumination, 
by  putting  a  lighted  taper  on  our  table  here  1  would  any  of  us  think 
of  holding  up  a  candle  to  the  sun  ?  But  it  may  be  said  that  by  such 
statement  of  this  doctrine,  do  we  not  open  the  door  to  licentiousness 
and  immorality'! — I  deny  that  we  do  ;  for  the  Protettant  doctrine  is, 
that  the  Spirit  that  gives  faith  also  sanctifies  ;  justiiiituti  >n  and  sanoti- 
fication  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  Protestant  system.  Protestants  do  not 
look  upon  any  as  possessing  the  faith  thot  justifies,  unless  this  faith 
produces  holiness.  Such,  then,  are  some  of  th«  leading  and  character- 
istic doctrines  of  Protestantism  ;  such  are  the  striking  features  and  dif- 
ferences of  the  two  churches ;  and  I  now  appeal  to  you  as  thinking, 
rational,  wise  men,  which  of  thcra  should  be  considered  as  the  true 
■  Church  of  Christ,  and  which,  as  that  wh'c-^  is  schisniatieal  and  heret- 
ical, and  which  has  departed  from  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  I  would  now  narrow  the  whole  question  within  this  one  point : 
The  Apostle  Paul  wrote  an  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  There  was,  my 
friends,  a  Church  of  Rome  in  Paul's  day ;  not,  indeed,  the  Church  of 
Rome  as  she  exists  and  is  constituted  now — for,  alas  !  "  how  has  the 
gold  become  dim,  how  is  the  much  fine  gold  changed  V  The  Church 
of  Rome  now-a-days  existing  has  departed,  we  Protestants  strenuously 
maintain,  from  the  faith  as  preached  to  the  Church  of  Rome  by  Paul 
in  his  day.  We  Protestants  will  be  satisfied  to  build  our  whole  doc- 
trine on  the  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Romans  in  his  day  ;  and  we  declare 
that  if  we  had  only  this  one  Epistle,  we  could  derive  therefrom  whot 
would  refute  Popery,  and  give  the  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth,  as 
it  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  the  soul. 

"  If  Popery  stand  the  test  of  this  Epibtle,  and  if  Protestantism  doth 
not  stand  it,  we  shall  give  up  the  question. 

"  To  confirm  and  establish  my  positions  here.  I  shall  now  beg  leave 
to  gi«e  a  rapid  otitline  of  this  Epistle,  leaving  it  to  your  judgment,  ns 
scripturally  enlightened,  to  determine  whether  my  view  of  the  Epistle 
be  correct  or  not. 


r^ritf- 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


21 


"  The  great  design  of  the  Apostle  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  is  to 
show  the  nt^ed  all  mankind  had  of  a  righteousness  to  justify,  the  na- 
ture of  that  righteousness  which  justifies  a  sinner,  and  the  oonsequenoei 
and  results  of  embracing  aud  laying  hold  of  such  justifying  righteous 
ness ;  accordingly,  in  the  first  chapter  the  Apostle  is  principally  occu- 
pied in  showing  that  the  Gentile  world,  by  reason  of  their  horrid 
wickedness  and  total  moral  apostacy,  had  need  of  this  righteousness. 
In  the  second  chapter  and  the  opening  part  of  the  third  chapter,  he 
shows  that  the  Jews,  though  possessed  of  greater  external  privileges, 
were  just  in  as  bad  a  way  as  to  the  attainment  of  an3'thing  like  a  per- 
sonal justifying  righteousness  before  God.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
third  chapter,  he  explains  at  large  what  that  righteousness  is  which 
justifies  the  sinner ;  even  the  righteoueness  of  Jesus  Christ — his  per- 
fect obedience  unto  death,  as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  which, 
being  embraced  by  faith  by  the  sinner,  becomes  his -by  imputation. 
In  the  fourth  chapter  Paul  proves  or  evidences  his  doctrine  by  the 
case  of  Abraham  as  the  father  of  the  faithful,  or  the  justified. '  In  the 
fifth  chapter  he  shows  the  consequence  of  embraoing  this  doctrine,  as 
relates  to  inward  Christian  experience,  or  the  communication  of  peace, 
and  joy,  and  hope  to  the  believer.  In  the  sixth  chapter  Paul  shows 
that  this  blessed  doctrine  does  not  tend  to  licentiousness,  as  might  at  first 
sight  appear,  and  as  its  enemies  have  ofttimes  represented,  but  one  di< 
rectly  and  necessarily  tending  unto  holiness  of  life.  In  the  seventh 
chapter  he  shows  that  the  justified  are  renewed  in  the  right  spirit  of 
their  minds,  yet  are  they,  at  best,  but  renewed  in  part ;  that  in  the 
most  regenerate  there  is,  through  life,  a  perpetual  conflict  kept  up 
between  the  flesh  and  spirit.  But  though  sin  thus  harrasses  and  op- 
presses them,  yet  doth  it  not  condemn  them,  for  they  obtain  the  vic- 
tory over  the  body  of  this  death  through  Jesus  Christ ;  so  that,  as  is 
said  in  the  opening  part  of  the  eighth  chapter,  there  is  now  no  con- 
demnation, and  therefore  no  Purgatory,  &o.,  for  them  that  are  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  spirit.  (Rom. 
viii.  I,  Ac.)" 

Strictly  speaking,  we  have  only  to  do  with  Mr.  Ma- 
ginn,  and  to  his  part  of  the  controversy  we  shall  confine 
our  extracts. 

On  the  fourth  day  Mr.  Maginn,  "lest  his  reverend 


>• 


I 


22 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD   MAOINN. 


friends  should  want  employment  during  the  remainder 
of  the  day,"  proposed  to  them  the  following  list  of  ob- 
jeetions : 

"QuKRiKB. — First :  llow  can  tho  receiving  of  the  tcntha  of  Uie  poor 
man's  labor,  be  reconciled  with  that  principle  which  ia  considered 
M  fundamental  in  the  Church  of  England,  viz. :— That  every  man  is 
capable  of  judging,  and  should  judge  for  himself,  on  all  occasions  in 
religious  matters  ? 

••  Secondly  :  If  the  Bible,  interpreted  by  individual  reason,  be  your 
sole  rule  of  faith,  why  saddle  us  with  the  galling  burthen  of  pampered 
and  avaricious  preachers  an*l  ministcis  1 

"  Thirdly  :  If  Protestants  of  all  denominations  be  one,  as  Mr.  Smyly 
has  stated,  why  brand  with  the  name  of  schismatic,  the  Dissenter  true 
to  his  principles  1 

"  Fourthly :  If  Protestants  of  all  denominations  be  one  in  faith,  in 
hope,  and  charity,  why  set  up  conventicles  apart  1    Why  do  they  wor 
ship  in  different  temples  1 

'  Fifthly  :  In  the  name  of  common  sense,  how  can  you  assert  that 
any  mon  differing  from  you  in  opinion,  is  wrong — you,  who  admit 
that  every  man  is  right  in  judging  for  himself  in  matters  of  faith  1 

'•  Sixtlily  :  On  what  principle  would  you  refute  an  Arian  or  Socinian, 
who  taking  private  judgment  and  Scripture  for  hia  sole  guide,  would 
interpret  the  following  texts  : — '  There  is  one  Mediator,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,'  or  '  my  Father  is  greater  than  I ;'  of  the  non-consubstantiality 
or  inferiority  of  the  Son  1 

"  Seventhly :  How  can  you  reconcile  the  universal  apostacy  of 
Christendom,  as  it  is  asserted  in  your  Book  of  Homilies,  with  this  per- 
petual truth — the  unohanageable  object  in  the  symbol  of  a  Christian's 
faith,  viz. :  '  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  ;'  or,  as  it  is  in  the 
Nicene  Creed,  '  I  believe  in  one  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  V 

Eightly  :  The  articles  which  separate  you  from  your  Presbyterian 
brethren,  and  from  the  Dissenters  of  all  denominations — they  are  either 
essentials  or  non-essentials.  If  essentials,  why  hove  you  the  absurdity 
to  state  that  you  are  one  with  them  1  If  non-essentials,  why,  therefore, 
*n  the  name  of  heaven,  divide  the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  the  City  of 
Sion  1— Why  tear  the  seamless  garment  of  Christ  asunder,  by  causing 
hem  for  a  non-adhesion  to  indifferent  and  nugatory  articles,  to  retire 


LIFK  OF  UIGHT  REV.   EDWARD   MAGIN'X. 


28 


brandccl  with  the  name  of  exennimunioated  from  yont  Inw  Church  !■— 
'  Wh<>^ot.'vcr  shall  ■epiirAte  thcniselvet  from  tito  comnintiioti  of  the 
Saitita,  at  it  is  approved  by  the  Apostles'  rules  in  the  Church  «>f  Kiig- 
Jand,  and  combine  thomsolvos  in  n  neui  brotlierhood,  acouunting  the 
Christians  who  nre  oonformuble  to  the  doctrines,  government,  rites,  niid 
•cremonies  in  the  Church  of  England,  to  be  profane  and  unmeet  for 
them  to  join  with  in  Christian  profession,  let  them  be  exoomniuni* 
oatcd,  &c.'— (Canon  0th.) 

"  Tenthly :  Why  do  you  admit  a  supreme  head  in  spirituals,  whose  su- 
premacy is  not  sanctioned  by  any  warrant  in  the  written  Christian 
dispensation ! 

"  Eleventhly  :  Why  do  you  say,  as  you  have  said,  that  Soripltivo 
bears  testimony  to  itself,  when  its  author,  Christ  Jesus,  soys,  that  even 
his  own  living  and  established  testimoi.v  of  himself  would  be  fruitless 
and  vain.  •  If  I  bear  witness  of  myseh,  my  witness  is  not  true — you 
sent  to  John,  and  he  gave  testimony  of  the  truth  V — (St.  John,  chap.  5, 
ver.  31  and  33.) 

"How  do  you  prove  to  this  mixed  assembly,  that  you  are  not  guilty 
of  the  sin  of  Schism — a  sin  which  the  Apostle  of  nations  testifies,  ex- 
cludes from  the  kingdom  of  heaven— equally  guilty,  I  repeat  it,  with 
the  Arians,  the  Nestorians,  the  Euticheans.  They  also  called  themselves 
Reformers  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  They  also  separated  themselves 
from  the  See  of  Rome.  What  they  have  done,  you  have  done  in  like 
manner? — So  much  for  the  Queries." 

On  these  queries  the  subsequent  discussion  mainly 
turned.  On  the  fifth  day,  Mr.  Maginn  gave  utterance  to 
the  following  noble  words,  in  reply  to  the  pseudo-pro- 
phecy that  the  Church  would  shortly  perish : 


i 


'•My  friend  Mr.  Smyly  has  told  'is  that  the  Catholic  Church,  viz  , 
the  whore  of  Babylon,  will  shortly  perish.  In  this  prophetic  cry  of 
his,  I  recognize  the  language  of  the  seers  of  past  ages  :  '  The  Catholic 
Church,  says  a  Simon  Magus,  shall  shortly  perish,  for  she  denies  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  can  be  purchased  for  money.  The  Catholic  Church 
shall  shortly  perish,'  says  a  Menander, '  for  she  is  so  absurd  as  to  teach 
that  I  am  not  the  light  for  the  revelations  of  nations,  nor  the  glory  of 


24 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


;  >»'■' 


hi 


^] 


the  people  of  iBrael.'  The  Catholic  Church  shall  shortly  perish,  says 
an  Ebion  and  a  Marcion,  for  she  defends  the  blasphemous  error  of 
Christ  being  God,  -whereas  he  is  no  more  than  a  mere  man.  The  Ca- 
tholic Church  shall  shortly  perish,  says  a  Montanus  and  a  Novatius, 
for  she  dares  to  assert  that  the  pastors  of  the  spouse  of  Christ  have 
the  power  of  forgiving  all  sins,  even  the  sin  of  apostacy.  That  idola- 
trous Church  shall  perish,  says  an  Arius,  which  makes  the  creature  a 
creator,  and  has  the  boldness  to  assert  that  Word  is  eternal  and  con- 
substantial  to  the  Father.  The  Catholic  Church  shall  perish,  says  a 
Pelagius,  for  she  admits  that  original  sin  is  communicated  to  us,  and 
that  the  faculties  of  man  are  weakened  by  inherited  corruption — that 
of  liimself,  without  grace,  he  is  incapable  of  observing  the  law  of 
God.  The  Catholic  Church  shall  perish,  says  Nestorius,  for  she  ad- 
mits only  one  person  in  Christ,  and  reveres  the  Virgin  Mary  as  the 
mother  of  the  living  God.  The  Catholic  Church,  viz.,  the  where  of 
Babylon,  shall  shortly  perish,  says  au  Eutyches,  for  she  believes  in 
the  blasphemous  doctrine  of  two  natures  in  Christ,  whereas  there  is 
only  one,  the  human  nature  being  absorbed  in  the  divine  nature,  as 
the  dewdrop  disappears  in  the  ocean.  The  Catholic  Church  shall 
shortly  perish,  says'  a  Donatus,  for  she  professes  to  believe  that  the 
children  of  heretics  are  not  to  be  re-baptized,  and  that  pastors  in  the 
state  of  sin  can  validly  administer  the  sacraments.  The  Catholic 
Church  shall  shortly  perish,  says  a  Lucidus,  for  she  rejects  the  neces- 
sary influence  of  grace.  The  Catholic  Church  shall  shortly  perish, 
say  the  Monatholites,  for  she  admits  two  wills  instead  of  one  in  the 
Redeemer.  The  Catholic  Church,  in  fine,  shall  shortly  perish,  says  a 
Gotescalus,  fur  she  admits  predestination  to  good  and  not  to  evil ;  she 
is  so  nonsensical  as  to  deny  that  the  will  of  man  is  like  to  a  saddle- 
horse,  doing  evil  necessarily  if  the  devil  be  the  rider,  doing  good  ne- 
cessarily if  God  be  seated  on  it.  The  Church  shall  perish,  has  been 
the  language  of  every  innovator  from  the  days  of  Christ  until  the  pre- 
sent day ;  time,  however,  has  proved  them,  and  shall  prove  my  rev- 
erend friend  Mr.  Smyly  to  be  links  in  that  chain  of  false  seers  to  whom 
an  angry  God  hatli  said,  '  I  have  not  sent  you,  yet  you  ran ;  I  have 
not  spoken  to  you,  yet  you  prophecied.'  The  Church  has  survived 
their  fanciful  predictions,  and  shall  survive  them  until  the  end  of  time. 
The  very  nothingness  of  these  near-sighted  prophets  has  borne  and 
shall  bear  testimony  to  her  duration  and  stability ;  yea,  even  the  he- 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD   MAGINN. 


25 


reticftl  cry,  she  shall  shortly  perish  !  has  only  served  and  will  serve  to 
convince  the  world,  by  calling  its  attention  to  the  miraculous  preserva- 
tion of  the  Church ;  that  it  is  an  edifice  which  God  hath  built  up,  and 
which  no  man  can  throw  down,  against  which  the  winds  and  waves 
may  beat  in  vain,  around  which,  uninjured,  the  elements  may  crash, 
the  heavens  change  as  a  garment,  and  all  created  nature  tottering  on 
its  foundation,  dwindle  into  its  original  nothingness  ;  God  in  the  midst 
of  her,  she  shall  not  be  moved." 

On  the  sixth  day,  one  of  the  Protestant  disputants  in- 
troduced, in  evidence  of  the  corruption  of  the  Church,  a 
well  known  spurious  work,  called  the  Taxoe  CanceUarice^ 
in  relation  to  which,  on  opening  the  seventh  day's  pro- 
ceedings, Mr.  Maginn  said : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen,  when  an  agreement  had  been  entered 
into  to  discuss  the  respective  merits  of  the  Churches  of  England  and 
of  Rome,  I  flattered  myself  that  wo  would  proceed  calmly  and  di  >- 
passionately  to  the  investigation  of  truth  ;  I  find,  however,  to  my  sor- 
row, that  I  have  vainly  indulged  this  hope,  for  the  lowest  scurrility  and 
misrepresentation  have  taken  the  place  of  reason  and  of  common  sense ; 
forgeries  and  calumnies  have  been  substituted  for  revelation,  and  Re- 
ligion's sacred  name,  with  every  kind  of  religious  veneration,  has  been 
turned  into  a  farce — has  become  a  subject  for  mimickry  and  for  mirth. 

"  Ou  seeing  yesterday 's  exhibition,  methought  myself  at  one  time  in  a 
Drury  Lane  or  in  a  Covent  Garden,  witnessing  the  performance  of 
Sheridan's  School  for  Scandal ;  at  another  time,  I  imagined  myself  in 
the  Theatre  Francaise,  an  amused  spectator  of  a  Talma  in  the  Tartuflfe. 

"  It  was  not,  however,  in  all  its  Fcenes  a  comedy,  it  partook  rather  of ' 
the  nature  of  a  melo-drama.  The  audience,  I  am  sure,  was  forced  to 
smile  and  to  weep  :  to  pmile  at  the  folly  which  it  displayed,  while  the 
tears  of  sorrow,  yea,  and  of  indignation  too,  were  shed  over  the  low 
designing  malice — over  the  wily  subterfuges  of  the  hero  of  the  piece, 
to  support  a  bad  and  a  tottering  cause. 

"  The  impression,  I  am  convinced,  which  the  introduction  of  the  Taxse 
Cancellarise,  that  pretended  Romish  production,  must  have  made  on 
your  minds,  is  to  deep  to  be  easily  effaced.    Long  shall  you  remember 
1* 


26 


LIFE  OF  KIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


!| 


'! 


ll 


\ 


i 


how  lenient  Popes  were  in  the  days  of  old  towards  parricides,  how 
tevere  they  have  been  towards  priest  strikers. 

"  So  gross  an  imposition  as  this  book  is,  were  it  not  for  the  advantage 
of  my  Protestant  friends,  I  would  not  even  deign  to  notice.  The  abom- 
inable doctrines  it  contains,  the  abuses  it  appears  to  sanction,  are  too 
well  known  to  Catholics  not  to  constitute  any  article  of  their  religious 
symbol,  nor  ever  to  have  received  the  sanction  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
that  they  need  no  information  on  this  head.  For  the  instruction,  there- 
fore, of  my  dissenting  friends,  and  for  theirs  only,  I  shall  first  give  you 
a  few  extracts  from  the  celebrated  Doctor  Lingard,  bearing  on  this 
subject,  and  invalidating  its  authenticity.  I  shall  then  give  you  my 
own  reasons  for  considering  it  one  of  the  vilest  fabrications  ever  in- 
vented by  interested,  designing,  and  faithless  men." 

After  quoting  Lingard,  and  exposing  the  forgery  of 
tliis  book  from  internal  evidence,  Mr.  Maginn  proceeded 
to  defend  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  as  taught  by  the 
Church,  and  expressly  laid  d^wn  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  On  the  eighth  day  Mr.  Henderson  attempted 
an  answer  to  that  argument,  but  certainly  failed  to  shake 
it  in  the  least.  He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Maginn,  the 
first  part  of  whose  addrjss  was  devoted  to  an  expla- 
nation of  Luther's  conduct,  in  permitting  pr^lygamy  to 
Philip  of  Hesse,  and  the  conclusion  of  which  was  a  re- 
joinder to  the  attempted  answer  of  the  opponents  of  the 
doctrine  of  purgatory.  On  this  day  he  excited  a  good 
deal  of  merriment,  by  referring  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyly  to 
his  Rev.  Bro.  Henderson  for  "  the  self-evident  distinction 
which  exists  between  miracles  and  mysteries."  On  the 
ninth  day  he  continued  the  same  subject — purgatory  and 
prayers  for  the  dead. 


LIFE   OF  EIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


27 


On  the  eleventh  day  Mr.  Maginn,  with  his  accustomed 
readiness  and  humor,  detected  an  argument  on  the  wall 
of  the  old  Cathedral  in  which  the  discussion  was  had. 
The  authentic  report  thus  relates  the  scene : 

"Agaia;   I  gladly  congratulate  my  reverend  opponents  on  their 
adopted  image  wor.-hip.    [Here  the  Rev.  Mr.  Maginn  espying  behind 
the  coramuoloa  table,  a  Gloria  having  a  small  cross  in  the  centre,  with 
an  inscription  I,  H.  S.,  pointed  to  it.]     There,  Gentletnen,  is  an  '  Idol 
which  you  have  raided  in  the  house  of  the  living  God,'  with  an  in- 
scription on  it  too  in  an  unknown  tongue.    You  also  have  violated  the 
second  commandment;  you  have  made  to  yourselves  the  figures  of 
thinga  which  are  in  the  heavens  above  and  in  the  earth  below.    You 
are  accustomed  in  like  manner  to  bow  down  before  them.    The  idol,  it 
is  true,  before  which  you  worship,  is  void  of  proportion  and  coloring. 
Were  you  to  adopt  the  motto,  'fas  est  ab  hoste  doccri.'  I  would   feel 
happy  to  recommend  one  to  you,  which,  while  it  would  evince  your 
good  taste,  would  tend  at  the  same  time  to  ornament  your  Church  and 
to  instruct  your  people.    I  would  then  advise  you  to  place  above  your 
communion  table,  a  picture  representing  a  Jesus  crucified,  with  the 
forefinger  of  his  right  hand  pointing  towards  the  Church  depicted  in 
the  back  ground,  with  this  appropriate  inscription.  '  this  is  my  be- 
loved spouse,  the  Church,  for  whose  sake  I  bleed,  that  I  may  render 
her  without  spot  or  wrinkle ;   lo,  I  am  with  her  all  days,  even  to  the 
consummation  of  the  world.'    In  his  left  hand  you  may  place,  if  you 
please,  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  hard-by,  St.  Peter  kneel- 
ing on  his  right  knee  and  receiving  them  from  him,  while  the  Saviour 
will  seemingly  address  him,  as  he  has  done  really,  in  these  words : 
*  Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  ray  Church,  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.    I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ;  whatsoever  thou  wilt  bind  in  earth  will  be  bound 
in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in 
heaven.'    In  the  same  tablet,  by  enlarging  it  somewhat,  you  may  have 
the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  twelve  Apostles,  with  appropriate  inscrip- 
tions.   Opposite  the  blessed  Virgin,  '  Behold  your  mother  ;'  opposite 
the  Apostles, '  Behold  your  children.'    Should  the  remaining  parts  of 
this  Chapel  of  Ease  require  further  useful  ornament,  I  would  recom- 


28 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD   MAGINN. 


mend  to  you  to  borrow  a  few  saints  from  us,  and  have  these  side  wall 
embellished  by  their  representations.  The  amiable  St.  Francis  of  Sales, 
the  zealous  and  apostolic  Xavier,  and  the  charitable  St.  Vincent  of 
Paul,  would  be  mighty  lessons  of  practical  virtue  for  the  Sunday-sainted 
visitors  of  this  house  of  prayer.  They  would  remind  them,  that  not 
only  a  Man-God,  but  weak  mortals,  like  to  themselves,  scaled  the  rugged 
heights  of  a  Calvary,  drank  of  the  bitter  chalice  deeply,  yet  patiently, 
made  their  works  shine  before  men,  were,  in  fine,  the  true  disciples  of 
the  Just  One,  by  <  taking  up  their  cross  and  following  him.' 

At  the  close  of  his  remarks,  he  related  the  following 
anecdote : 

"  A  French  general  waa  induced  through  curiosity  to  come  to  the 
metropolis  of  Great  Britain ;  being  invited  by  a  certain  nobleman  of 
his  acquaintance  to  visit  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  as  he  was  admiring  the 
various  perfections  of  that  noble  and  majestic  edifice,  he  was  asked  by 
his  companion  what  he  thought  of  it,  and  if  he  considered  it  superior 
to  Notre  Dame,  at  Paris.  He  answered  that  the  shell  of  the  building 
did  honor  to  its  projectors,  that  it  wn'^  in  many  respects  superior  to 
Notre  Dame,  but  that  the  religious  embelliahroents  of  the  kttcr  much 
surpassed  those  of  the  fcrraer.  When  yon  enter,  said  he,  into  Notre 
Dame,  at  every  step  almost  a  crucified  Saviour  or  his  disciples  meet 
your  eye  :  here,  said  he,  I  see  nothing  but  the  vestiges  of  those  devas- 
tators of  the  human  race.  Here  indeed,  said  he,  I  see  everything  em- 
blematic of  the  god  of  war ;  there  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  the  tro- 
phy of  the  God  of  virtue.  Here  I  see  the  statues  of  those  who  con- 
quered by  the  effusion  of  the  blood  of  their  brethren  ;  there  is  to  be 
seen  the  representations  of  those  who  triumphed  through  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  and  died  the  victims  of  their  benevolence.  Here,  said 
he,  I  see  those  worldlings  who  prevailed  by  terror,  by  cunning,  yea, 
perhaps  by  treachery  too,  and  the  violation  of  the  sacred  principles 
of  faith,  honor  and  justice  over  their  less  designing,  more  upright,  and 
more  virtuous  neighbors.  There  you  may  see  those  saints  who  only 
vied  in  doing  good  ;  who  gained  a  victory,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  witli 
the  sword  of  patience,  with  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  with  the  all- 
protecting  shield  of  fraternal  charity." 

On  the  twelfth  and  last  day,  he  made  his  ninth  argu- 


LIFE   OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


29 


em- 
tro- 

con- 
be 

)lood 
said 

lyea, 

pples 

and 

)nly 

riUi 

all- 


SU- 


ment.  In  opening  for  the  Catholics,  he  thus  replied  to 
the  expressions  of  good  will  with  which  Mr.  Boyd  had 
opened  on  the  other  side.    He  said : 

^^ Mr.  Chairman: — My  reverend  Mend,  Mr.  Boyd,  opened  this  day's 
proceedings  by  stating  that  he  h.-d  nought  but  good  will  towards 
Christians  of  every  denomination  ;  I  heartily  concur  with  him  in  this 
charitable  sentiment  to  which  he  has  given  utterance,  and  am  glad  to 
f.nd  that,  though  we  widely  differ  in  many  other  respects,  our  opin- 
ions on  this  head  do  perfectly  harmonize.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
I  confidently  assert  that  I  would  be  a  traitor  to  those  principles  whose 
truth  I  advocate,  were  I  to  bear  any  feelings  of  personal  hatred  to- 
wards any  of  my  dissenting  brethren.  Compelled  by  circumstances 
to  come  forward  and  to  defend,  and  give  reason  for  that  faith  which  is 
in  me,  I  brought  no  animosity  with  me  to  this  discussion,  and  I  trust 
in  my  God  that  I  shall  bring  none  away  with  me  from  it.  Weak  as 
my  understanding  may  be,  I  have  sufficient  discernment  between  the 
man  and  his  errors — sufficient  acquaintance  with  the  doctrines  of  my 
own  Church  to  perceive  that  while,  as  a  minister  of  the  God  of  truth, 
I  am  called  on  to  impugn  falsehood,  I  am  in  duty  bound  to  revere,  re- 
spect and  love  the  victims  of  delusion.  In  the  Protestant  communioa 
I  recognize  many  of  my  warmest  friends  ;  the  oppositit  of  our  re- 
spective tenets  has  not  hitherto,  nor  shall  it,  I  hope,  in  future,  tend  to 
sever  the  ties  of  mutual  benevolence  and  love." 

After  a  few  summary  remarks,  he  then  returned  to  the 
queries  he  had  advanced  on  the  second  day,  and  the  re- 
plies they  had  elicited : 

"  The  queries  which  I  proposed  at  the  commencement  of  this  discus- 
sion, if  I  except  a  few  to  which  Mr.  Henderson  has  endeavored  to  re- 
ply, remain  unanswered.  I  shall,  therefore,  propose  them  again,  and 
having  glanced  at  the  evasive  answers  given  to  ten  of  the  difficulties 
proposed,  I  shall  leave  them  before  the  public. 

"  Quer.  First :  Was  it  a  figure  of  Christ's  body  which  was  delivered 
for  us?  Was  it  a  figure  of  Christ's  blood  which  was  shed  for  us  ?  Mr. 
Henderson'answers  and  says,  that  it  was  a  figure  of  Christ's  body  that 


80 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


was  given  to  us  in  the  Sacrament ;  but  he  denies  that  it  was  the  figure 
of  Christ's  body  that  was  delivered  for  m.  In  this,  his  reply,  he  ap- 
pears to  me  to  contradict  the  express  saying  of  the  Redeemer,  who  in- 
forms us  that  that  body  which  was  given  for  us,  was  given  to  us. 

"  Quer.  Second :  How,  on  Protestant  principles,  can  this  clear  text, 
'this  is  my  bodij^^  announced  by  Christ  in  peculiar  circumstances, 
written  in  different  Gospels,  at  different  periods,  and  in  the  same  words, 
by  three  Evangelists,  and  by  the  apostle  of  nations,  how,  I  say,  can  its 
literal  meaning  be  invalidated,  except  by  a  clearer  text,  bearing  nn 
the  same  subject,  viz.  by  such  a  one  as  the  following : — '  This,  which  I 
give  unto  you,  is  by  po  means  my  body ;'  and  where  in  sacred  writ  do 
we  find  this  more  clear  and  explicit  text  7  My  reverend  friend,  Mr. 
Hendercion,  replies  that  that  more  clear  and  explicit  text  is  to  be  found 
in  Matt.  16  chap.  29  v.,  where  it  is  called  after  the  consecration,  the 
fruit  of  the  vine  ;  and  by  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  chap.  11,  26  v., 
where  the  Sacrament  is  also  called  bread  after  the  Benediction.  His 
answer,  however,  does  not  appear  to  me  sufficient,  for  first,  according 
to  St.  Luke,  22  chap.  18  v.,  the  fruit  of  the  vine  there  spoken  of,  was 
the  wine  drank  with  the  paschal  lamb.  Moreover,  even  were  I  to  ad- 
mit that  Christ  Jesus  called  it  the  fruit  of  the  vine  and  bread,  after 
consecration,  it  would  by  no  means  make  against  the  Catholic  doctrine, 
nor  serve  my  reverend  friend  ;  for  in  many  passages  of  sacred  writ  do 
we  find  the  thing  transubstantiated,  called  after  the  name  of  the  thing 
from  which  it  had  been  transubstantiated ;  as  for  example,  in  the  2 
chap,  of  Genesis,  23  v..  Eve  is  called  Adam's  bone,  because  she  was 
formed  out  of  his  bone.  Again,  chap.  3,  v.  19,  where  Adam  is  called 
dust,  because  he  was  taken  out  of  dust ;  '  for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto 
dust  thou  wilt  return.'  Again,  in  the  Book  of  Exodus,  7  chap.  12  v., 
where  Aaron's  rod  is  called  a  rod  even  after  it  became  a  serpent ;  '  for 
they  cast  down  every  man  his  rod,  and  they  became  serpents ;  but 
Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  their  rods;'  finally, we  find  in  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John,  2  chap.  9  v.,  that  the  water,  after  it  was  changed  into  wine, 
is  called,  by  the  Evangelist,  water ;  '  when  the  ruler  of  the  feast  had 
tasted  the  water  that  was  made  wine,  and  knew  not  whence  it  was  ; 
but  the  servants  which  drew  the  water  knew,  the  governor  of  the  feast 
called  the  bridegroom.' 

"  Thirdly  :  Why  did  not  St.  Paul,  when  writing  to  the  Corinthians 
in  Greek,  and  that  too,  fur  their  immediate  instruction,  aware,  as  he 
must  have  been,  that  there  were  many  words  in  that  language  to  ez- 


i 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


31 


I 


press  the  tign,  why  did  he  use  the  same  language  as  our  Saviour  did, 
who,  as  my  reverend  oppououts  assert,  had  no  word  in  the  Hebrew  to 
express  the  sign,  and  say  Tovxo  at;/uaiv£t  /uov  to  output,  and  not  as  he 
expressed  it,  Tovto  eoxi  ftov  ro  ootfta,  this  siytiijies  my  body,  and  not 
this  is  my  body.  My  friend,  Mr.  Henderson,  replied  to  this  query,  after 
the  Irish  way,  by  proposing  a  question ;  why,  said  he,  in  the  25th 
verse  of  the  same  chapter  did  he  not  use  the  word  signiftf  when  speak- 
ing of  the  cup,  instead  of  is,  to  this  Irish  answer  I  reply,  that  the  Apos- 
tle was  not  so  ridicuously  absurd  as  to  say,  that  the  cup  signified,  or 
was  the  sign  of  his  blood.  The  evident  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  words  is, 
*  In  this  cup  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Testament,'  &c. 

"  Fourthly  :  Has  Christ  adilferent  body  from  that  which  was  born  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  ?  if  not,  how  reconcile  these  words  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  *  The  body  and  blood  of  Christ  is  verily  and  indeed 
taken  and  received  by  the  faithful  in  the  Sacrament,'  with  the  absence 
of  a  corporeal  presence  ?  My  friend,  Mr.  Henderson,  to  reconcile  this 
irreconcilable  difficulty,  has  introduced  Cranmer  and  many  others  of 
the  same  tribe  ;  but  I  am  sure  that  all  his  efibrts  have  proved  unsuc- 
cessful, for  there  are  none  here  of  so  acute  an  understanding  as  to  bo 
able  to  perceive  how  one  and  the  same  individual  can  receive  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  verihf  and  indeed,  and  not  receive  it  at  the  same  time. 

"  Fifthly :  How  can  a  man  be  said  to  be  guilty  of  Christ's  body  and 
blood,  who  by  no  means  receives  his  body  and  blood  ?  Mr.  Henderson 
says,  that  we  become  guilty  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  though  we  by 
no  means  receive  either  the  one  or  the  other,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  sinner  crucifies  Christ  in  his  flesh  ;  now,  as  my  reverend  friend  ad- 
mits all  sins  to  be  equal,  it  would  evidently  follow  from  his  e<)lution, 
and  the  difficulty  proposed  by  me  that  the  unworthy  receiver  of  the 
holy  Eucharist,  is  no  more  guilty  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  than  he 
who  takes  a  pin  from  his  neighbor. 

"  Sixthly  :  Will  a  man  be  damned  for  not  discerning  Christ's  Body, 
if  the  Lord's  Body  be  not  beneath  the  sacramental  veils  ?  My  friend 
answers,  yes,  if  he  does  not  discern  it  with  the  eye  of  faith.  I  would 
here  ask  my  reverend  opponent,  should  not  faith  have  a  real,  and  not 
a  chimerical  object?  Does  it  follow,  because  I  believe  God  is  here 
present,  that  he  is  thereby  absent ;  that  he  is  not  in  heaven,  because  I 
believe  him  to  be  in  it  ? 

"  Seventhly  :  On  the  night  of  the  institution  of  the  blessed  Sacrament, 
the  Jewish  rite  was  abolished.    On  this  night,  it  is  not  reasonable  to 


M2 


UKK  OV   KUniT   UKV.    KDWAUD   MAOINN. 


ooiiotiHio  lltiil  tlto  Hulmtiu\o(«  HUi^oooilotl  (<)  ilio  Hhntlow,  nnd  iiiironNonnliln 
to  »si«ort  (hut  u  inoiv  Mgiiro  ituoooo<l«M|  lo  u  llp^iin*,  My  rovcrotul  IVIoiut 
HtutON  iht«l  (h«'  |tiim<hul  liiiiUi  wun  w  ll)j[ni'o  not  ol  th««  KiioliiirUt,  ImiI  oi* 
riirUt  JontiM  lihu!*oir,  whit  >vi«n  tiiiiiioliilod  on  Moiiiil  ( 'ulvury.  («riuii- 
iug  lIuU  (ho  |)iiMohul  hnith  h\\\\\\,  wum  (ho  (Igiiro  of  OhilHl  >V(i//)/  Hhilti  on 
/.ount  i'ltlvttry,  1  woohl  nsk  Mr.  IIoiiiIoi'noii,  why  nhouhl  not  (ho  |iuh< 
phnl  h\iuh  ntton,  ho  tho  ((kui'o  o('  Chrint  ir^ifli/  vnton  in  tho  Sucniiuonl? 
"  K!);h(hly  :  l>i«l  (Mulht,  who  \v\\  ouptlvlly  on|ttivo,  glvo  roul  or  Im- 
n,illiuu\v  giltM  (o  nion?  My  A'lomI  nnsworM  ho  friivo  roii)  Kil'tK.  If  hu 
huM  <h>no  !<o,  tho  Kiiohiu'iH(,  hoin^  \\\»  hint  kICi  or  logitcy.  niuKl  ovon  hi 
Mr.  Uonih>r.<«iMi'H  prinoiph^M,  coutidn  notnothhi^  moro  than  tlio  inoro 

*•  NhUhly  :  In  what  oonslstx  tho  nn|»orl«>rl(y  or  (ho  MnohnriNtio  hrond 
In  tho  now  h»w,  ovor  (ho  Miuuiu  in  tlu»  ohi,  (which  nnpt^rlorlty  (^lirlnt 
P|»oot(itHl  in  tlu»  (Jtli  olu»|>lo»*  of  kSl.  .lohn)  If  tlio  Suortunont  Iw  Imroly 
llj^nrrttivo?  Mr.  Ilomloi'son  in  hi.s  nn»wor  to  \\\\h  us(»or(H.  thut  thoro  In 
no  oontpiirison  nuulo  in  ()u>  (Ul)  olutp.  of  St.  Jolin,  hotwotMt  tho  Miuum 
nn<t  tho  Knohi\rlK(io  hroiui.  Tltis  roply  1  olnitl  pltioo  in  jnxtitpoHition 
with^ho  worvis  of  (ruih  itsolf.  rtml  iortvo  it  to  tho  pnbllo  to  dotorniino. 
•  Onr  futhors  «H»I  out  luannn  in  tho  Uo.-^ort ;  i\a  it  is  wrltton  ho  gftvo 
thotn  hri'rtil  Atun  Innuon  to  ont.'  Agtiin,  •  yonr  fathor-s  illd  oat  Miuu\a 
in  tho  w  ihlorno!<8,  «\n«l  nro  «lonti ;  this  is  tho  hrond  which  conu<tli  down 
Ahmu  hoAYon.  tltnt  n  nmn  mny  out  thereof  nnd  not  dio.  And  tlio  broad 
that  I  will  ,<;mv  is  >ny  (U\sh.  which  I  will  glvo  for  tho  llfo  of  tho  world.' 
St.  John,  chap.  vi..  'M,  (S.  -tH.  M),  nnd  M  versos. 

••  Tonthly  :  t^hrist  cauio  to  fnllll.  and  not  to  inako  void  tho  law ;  to 
perfect  that  which  was  wrltton.  Wlioro  In  (his  hypoihesis  d«)  wo  llnd 
tho  accomplishment  of  tho  vnrions  and  bloody  o(l'erin}»s  made  under  tho 
ratrlarchal  nnd  Mosaic  dispensations,  if  tho  Eucharist  bo  merely  taken 
in  romembranco  "f  My  IViend,  Mr.  Henderson,  replies,  that  there  was  no 
puch  thinjr  a*  unbhxMly  sacriftco  befv>ro  tho  comin;;  of  Christ :  my  friend 
I  am  sure  forgi^t  tho  fVuit  of  tho  earth  oirored  by  Cain — tho  bread  and 
wino  by  Melchisadech — the  wino,  oil  and  flour,  tho  inconse,  tho  scape- 
goat. Ac.  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Leveticus.  Aa  to  tho  eleventh 
query  which  I  proposed,  it  apynwrs  to  have  awed  my  reverend  oppo- 
nents into  a  kind  of  solemn  silence  ;  they  did  not  oven  deign  to  notice 
it,  though  tho  twolflh  day  of  the  discussion  has  now  almost  elapsed.  I 
sliall  now  again  propose  it,  and  beg  the  attention  of  the  most  respecta- 
ble assembly  to  its  purport. 

••  Eleventh  :  Should  not  the  learned  and  pious,  who  lived  during  the 


LIKK   OK   IlKJirr  UICV.   KDWAIli)   MAOtNX. 


88 


»(ovcn  R(*itliii'l(<N  Kiilm<<(|U(*iit  in  ilin  rRdomption,  »'ltf)iil(l  Uicy  not  know 
tiiti  innntiliiK  ol'  tlio  ApoHlolio  wordN,  <  TIiIn  In  iny  lioily/  iriiicli  htlUir 
lliKii  wo  (»r  llio  prrHriit  «lny  ?  If  coiiitridn  mmMo  avow  it,  I  ohullcngo  tlio 
rovoronil  Koiillomi'ti  lioro  promiiiltodulorrnliiollioiiiionllotiofa  n!iil,Mit>* 
Miniiiint  proMoiiuo,  liy  plnulng  in  jiixtupoHilion  tlin  qiiotnlitrnMor  tho  il(»ly 
FiiIIkth  of  till)  wivon  llrHt  ccntiirloM  of  thu  (JIuirch  of  ('lirUt,  and  by 
permitting  tlirin  to  go,  tincominontcd,  lioforo  tlin  pnblio.  Ah  I  montioncd 
aliovo,  tin;  rovcron<l  gcntlomon  on  tho  otiior  nido  did  not  dulK'i  to  no* 
tiuo  UiIh  oliullongo,  and  why  ?  hooauNn  thoy  wcro  fully  pcrNuoilfid  that 
tho  voico  of  unli(|uity  would  bo  rained  uguinnt  thorn— that  tho  AuHtitiN 
and  Iho  Cyriln,  tho  ChryHOHtomH  and  tho  AinbroHOH,  with  trumpet  tonguo, 
would  cry  out  iiKiiinKt  thuir  InnovatiouH,  and  upbraid  them  with  having 
mado  void  tho  covonant  of  tho  liord,  and  having  changed  tho  iiubMtaii- 
tial  giflH  of  tho  Uoduomor  into  nutro  beggarly  rlemcntHl 

"  I2tl .  How  cull  tho  fundamental  principle  of  l'rot(!HtanliHm  -  namely, 
that  every  man  Ih  capable  of  Judging,  and  nhould  judge  for  himHolf,  bo 
reconciled  with  tho  exaction  of  tho  tenths  of  tho  poor  man'tf  labor,  hy 
teacherH,  preachers,  and  minlHtorH  7 

"  i:Uh.  If  rroiestantH  of  all  denomlnatlonH  bo  one,  an  my  friends 
conlldently  Htato  they  are,  why  brand  with  tho  name  of  echlHraatic  tho 
dlHHcnter  true  to  hiH  principloH? 

"  Hlh.  If  I'loloHtanta  of  all  denomlnatlonH  bo  one.  In  faith,  in  hopo, 
and  in  charity,  wliy  Hct  up  ouaventiclcs  apart ;  why  worHhip  in  dif* 
forent  temples? 

"  15th.  How,  in  tho  name  of  common  houho,  can  my  reverend  oppo- 
ncutu  unbluHhingly  stato,  that  any  man  diil'erlng  from  them  in  opinion 
is  wrong — they  who  adroit  that  every  man  Bhould  judye  for  himself 
and  that  in  judging  for  himself  he  is  ru/ht  ? 

"  IGth.  On  what  principle,  I  hero  ask  my  reverend  fVIcnds,  would 
they  refute  tho  Arian,  who,  taking  private  judgment  and  Scripture  for 
his  sole  guide,  would  Interpret  tho  following  text  of  sacred  writ : — *  My 
Father  is  greater  than  I ;'  and  again, '  there  is  one  mediator,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,'  of  the  nonconsubstantiality  or  inferiority  of.  the  Son? 

"  17th.  How  can  tho  universal  apostacy  of  Christendom,  mentioned  in 
tho  book  of  Homilies,  be  reconciled  with  this  truth,  the  perpetual  object 
of  a  Christian's  faith, '  I  believe  in  the  holy  Catholic  Church  ?'  or,  as  it 
is  in  the  Nicene  Creed,  *  I  believe  in  the  One,  Holy,  Catholic,  and 
Apostolic  Church?'  A  Church  always  holy,  is  at  all  times  void  of 
Idolatry,  and  of  doctrines  perniciously  erroneous. 

•*  18th.  The  articles  which  separate  ray  reverend  opponents  from 


81 


LIFE  OF  IIIGUT  REV.   EDWAliD  MAGIXN. 


their  Presbyterian  brethren,  and  from  dissenters  of  every  denomination, 
are  either  essentials  or  non-essentials — if  essentials,  why  say  that  they 
are  one  with  them — if  non-essentials,  why,  in  the  name  of  heaven,  tear 
the  seamless  garment  of  Christ  asunder? — why  divide  the  fold  of  Christ, 
and  disturb  the  peaceful  mansion  of  the  City  of  Sion,  by  prescribing 
non-essential  articles  as  conditions  of  communion,  and  by  forcing  the 
non-conformists  to  retire,  excommunicated  fcom  their  law  Church  ? 

19tli.  Wliy  do  my  reverend  friends  admit  a  lay  supreme  head  in 
spiritual  and  eccleBiastioal  matters,  whose  supremacy  is  not  sanctioned 
by  any  warrant  in  the  written  Christian  dispensation? 

"  20th.  Why  assert  that  Scripture  bears  testimony  to  itself,  when 
its  author,  Christ  Jesus,  says,  that  even  his  own  living  and  estab- 
lislied  testimony  of  himself  would  be  fruitless  and  vain.  '  If  I  bear 
witness  of  myself,  my  witness  is  not  true  ;'  again,  'You  sent  to  John, 
and  he  gave  testimony  of  truth.'    (St.  John,  6  c.  31-33  v.) 

*'2l8t.  How  will  my  reverend  opponents  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land prove  to  this  learned  assembly  tliat  they  are  not  guilty  of  the  siu 
of  schism — a  sin  which,  as  the  Apostle  of  Nations  attests,  excludes 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven — equally  guilty,  I  repeat  it,  with  the 
Arians,  the  Nestorians,  the  Eutechians  ;  they  also  called  the  Church 
of  Christ  corrupted — they  also  gloried  in  the  name  of  Reformers  ? 

22.  According  to  the  law  of  the  land,  which  is  supposed  to  speak 
the  sense  of  the  nation,  it  is  declared  that  no  man  is  capable  of  man- 
aging his  temporal  concerns,  before  he  has  attained  the  twenty-first 
year  of  his  age.  Common  sense  should  then  move  us  to  believe  that 
no  man  is  capable  of  judging  for  himself  in  religious  matters,  or  of 
selecting  his  own  symbol,  before  he  has  reached  that  period  of  his 
life.  I  hero,  then,  ask  my  reverend  friends,  can  that  religion  be  the 
religion  of  Christ,  which  supposes  that  a  man  must  have  attained  his 
twenty-first  year  before  he  can  give  his  reasonable  ossent  to  the  doc- 
trines which  it  inculcates,  or,  in  other  words,  make  an  act  of  faith  in 
its  divine  revelation'? 

"  23d.  Can  a  Protestant  of  the  Established  Church  reasonably  be- 
lieve any  tenet  peculiar  to  his  creed,  when  he  is  quite  aware  that  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Churches  are  opposed  to  this  doctrine  1 

*'24th.  Christ  Jesus  established  his  Church  on  and  by  the  word 

preached,  and  not  written.    '  Preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 

Go,  teach  all  nations,'  &o.    I  will  require  a  clear  text  of  Scripture, 

bearing  on  this  subject,  which  will  go  expressly  to  invalidate  the  nn- 

2 


I 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


85 


written  first  rule  of  faith,  And  make  known  to  us  the  exaot  period  of 
its  suspension." 

His  closing  remaiics  on  this  day  are  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  relation : 

••  I  might  here  repeat  many  other  queries,  to  which  my  reverend 
friends,  though  frequently  culled  on,  have  not  condescended  to  give 
answers,  and  for  this  reason,  because  they  were  convinced  that  in  their 
principles  tley  were  unanswerable.  They  asted,  in  this  respect,  a 
])rudcnt  part ;  for  knowing  as  they  must,  the  weakness  of  the  system 
which  they  advocate,  they  chose  rather  to  fly  before  the  difficulties 
proposed,  than  by  a  fruitless  struggle  in  attempting  to  uphold  it,  fur- 
ther expose  before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  its  consumptive  and  totter- 
ing condition.  I  am  sorry  to  perceive  here  that  my  time  is  almost  ex- 
pired, as  I  came  armed  with  substantial  documents,  which  would 
prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  this  assembly  that  Protestantism,  as  it  is 
now  professed  by  the  Church  of  England,  is  nothing  more  than  a 
patclicd  coat,  made  up  of  the  different  heresies  of  the  daj's  that  are 
gone  by  ;  my  sorrow,  however,  is  somewhat  alleviated  by  the  convic- 
tion I  feel,  that  enough  has  been  done  to  point  out  to  my  Protestant 
friends  the  way  that  leads  to  life — to  show  them  that  they  are  sheep 
of  another  fold — that,  to  enjoy  that  holy  and  religious  peace  of  soul, 
which  transcends  all  human  understanding,  they  must  r<'turn  to  the 
bosom  of  that  Church  from  which  their  forefathers,  in  an  evil  hour, 
separating  themselveji,  took  refuge  in  the  Babel  of  Schism. 

"As  this  is  the  last  time  I  will  here  have  an  opportunity  of  address- 
ing those  who  differ  from  me  in  opinion,  I  beg  leave,  before  sitting 
down,  to  crave  their  indulgence,  if  throughout  the  discussion,  where, 
unfortunately,  retaliation  too  often  became  necessary,  I  should,  in  their 
ej'es,  have  permitted  my  zeal  for  the  house  of  the  Lord  to  burn  rather 
intensely,  and  to  say  that  the  kind  attention  with  which  they  have 
heard  me,  and  the  liberality  evinced  in  general  by  all  denominations 
of  Christians  throughout  this  city,  have  made  an  impression  on  my 
mind  which  no  time  can  efface." 

Eev.  Messrs.  Bloxham,  Ross  and  Smyly  spoke  in  the 
closing  debate,  as  did  Rev.  Messrs.  Quin  and  O'Kane; 


SG 


LIFE  OF  lUGIlT  JIEV.   EDWAKl)   MAGINN. 


the  whole  was  wound  up  by  Mr.  O'Louglilin  in  a  rapid 

pynoptical  review  of  all  that  had  been  said  on  either  side. 

His  peroration  could  hardly  help  touching  both  parties 

among  the  auditors : 

"  I  wish  to  direct  a  few  words  to  my  Protestant  brotliren,  as  it  is 
probably  the  last  opportunity  I  may  have  of  addressing  them  They 
have  had,  during  this  discussion,  an  opportunity  of  knowing  what 
they  did  not  heietoforc  know,  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
You  must  now  perceive  that  she  is  not  that  erroneous,  superstitious, 
idolatrous  Church  which  you  were  led  to  believe  she  was,  but  tliat 
One,  Holy,  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  with  which  Christ  will  re- 
main to  the  end  of  days.  If  there  be  among  you  one  from  whose 
mind  divine  grace  has  removed  the  veil  in  which  it  has  been  enveloped 
by  prejudice,  harden  not  your  hearts  against  the  divine  influence,  but 
humbly  exclaim.  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do,  and  follow  the 
directions  of  the  holy  admonition.  To  you,  also,  my  Catholic  breth- 
ren, I  address  myself;  you  must  be  filled  with  consolation  and  holy 
joy  on  hearing  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  you.  You  have  hoard 
how  groundless  are  the  misrepresentations  so  unsparingly  used  against 
our  holy  Church,  of  superstition,  error  an*'  idolatry  ;  on  the  contrary, 
that  she  is  pure,  holy,  Catholic  and  Apostolic  j  ihat  she  is  directed  by 
her  divine  founder,  Jesus  Christ,  who  speaks  to  you  by  the  voice  of 
her  postors — never  deviate  from  her  decisions  ;  they  are  the  decisions 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  preserves  her  doctrine  pure  and  undefiled. 
She  is  always  armed  against  every  error,  and  oil  the  powers  of  earth 
and  hell  will  not  prevail  against  her.  Be  therefore  firm  and  constant 
in  the  faith  ;  be  strengthened  by  the  divine  aid  against  all  impostors 
and  the  ungodly  ;  in  the  words  of  St  Paul,  '  Watch,  stand  in  the 
faith,  act  manfully  ond  be  comforted.'     (Cor.  16  :  32.)" 

Never  was  text  of  Holy  "Writ  more  applicable  to  a 
people,  than  that  sentence  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Catholics  of 
the  North  of  Ireland, — "  AYatch,  stand  in  the  faith,  act 
manfully,  and  be  comforted,"  was  not  cited  to  them 
in  vain.     They  had  borne  for  a  hundred  and  forty  years 


! 


LIFK  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAQINN. 


87 


with  every  civil  and  social  deprivation,  but  at  last  their 
"  emancipation"  was  at  hand.  They  were  lifting  up  their 
hearts  to  God,  and  their  heads  among  their  fellow-men. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  resolute  stand  made 
by  their  six  consecrated  champions  at  Derry,  increased 
their  confidence  in  themselves,  in  their  clergy,  and  in  the 
faith  of  tlieir  fathers.  The  temper,  the  scholarship,  tho 
firmness  of  Fathers  O'Loughlin  and  O'Kane,  McCarron, 
Mc'Leer,  Maginn  and  Quinn,  filled  them  with  courage  to 
act  manfully.  It  is  evident  from  the  challenge  that  it 
was  not  only  a  religions  controversy,  but  an  exhibition 
of  tho  reasoning  powers  and  native  gifts  of  the  old  race 
against  the  new.  The  Rosses,  Bloxhams,  Boyds  and 
Hendersons  were  not  deficient  in  talent  or  acquirement ; 
some,  or  all  of  them  were  graduates  of  Trinity  College, 
one  of  the  best  endowed  Universities  in  Europe.  Their 
opponents  were  mainly  the  young  alumni  of  Maynooth, 
then  struggling  into  celebrity.  But  neither  their  College 
nor  the  Irish  Church  had  any  need  to  be  ashamed  of 
their  champions  in  the  famous  Discussion  at  Derry.* 

Cotemporaneously  with  these  oral  discussions,  the  Ca- 
tholic Association  continued  its  political  agitation  for  the 
abolition  of  the  remnant  of  the  Penal  Code.    Under  the 


'  As  stated  above  (in  the  text),  the  authenticuted  Report  of  the  Dis- 
cussion was  published  in  J828,  simultaneously  by  Curry,  of  Dublin, 
and  by  Coyne  of  the  same  city.  It  forms  a  thick  volume  of  over  500 
pages,  but  each  day'B  debate  is  numbered  separately 


38 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


wise  guidance  of  O'Connell  and  his  brilliant  colleagues, 
his  voluntary  society  had  almost  grown  into  the  import- 
ance of  a  Provisional  Government.  It  comprised  a  fair 
representation  of  the  old  nobility  and  gentry,  all  the 
Catholic  clergy,  and  almost  all  the  laity.  It  had  its  for- 
eign  allies  in  France,  Bavaria,  Eome,  the  United  States, 
Brazil  and  India.  At  home  its  proclamations  were  more 
effectual  than  the  Viceroy's;  abroad,  its  debates  were 
read  with  as  much  interest  as  those  of  the  Imperial  Par- 
liament. For  five  years  that  unparalleled  and  menacing 
spectacle  overawed  the  empire,  striking  fear  even  into 
the  lion  heart  of  Arthur,  Duke  of  Wellington.  At  last, 
in  April,  1829,  the  British  government  capitulated  to 
the  Irish  Association,  and  the  second  "  Catholic  Relief 
Bill"  became  the  law,  not  only  for  Ireland,  but  for  one- 
fifth  of  the  human  race.  During  the  last  years  of  the 
contest,  O'Connell  had  no  more  zealous  agent  in  the 
northern  province  than  the  popular  young  curate  of  Mo- 
ville.  The  name  of  Inishowen  had  not  even  then  lost 
all  its  terrors  for  Dublin  Castle,  and  he  kept  it  continually 
in  Urrorem  over  the  parties  in  power.  His  speeches  at 
the  Baronial  meetings  previous  to  "  Emancipation"  (as 
the  act  of  '29  is  popularly  called),  are  said  to  have  been 
like  his  early  sermons,  full  of  pith  and  power.  LTnluckily 
they  have  shared  the  same  fate,  and  we  must,  therefore, 
accept  their  merits  upon  heresay.  What  is  more  to  our 
purpose  is,  that  Mr.  Maginn,  amidst  all  these  exciting 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


89 


scenes,  political  and  polemical,  had  so  thoroughly  retained 
the  confidence  of  his  Bishop,  that  on  the  death  of  his 
uncle,  in  the  memorable  year  of  Emancipation,  he  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him  in  the  united  parishes  of  Fa- 
han  and  Deysertegny. 


40 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  Mission  OF  THE  NEW  PARISH  PRIEST — STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH 
IN  GENERAL — LOCAL  EXERTIONS  OF  DR.  MAGINN — HB  SUPPRESSES 
SECRET  SOCIETIES— FOUNDS  SEVEN  NATIONAL  SCHOOLS— HIS  CON- 
TROVERSY WITH  THE  NATIONAL  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION — HIS  IN- 
CREASING INFLUENCE — HIS  PREACHING  AS  DESCRIBED  BY  A  CO- 
TEMPORARY. 

At  the  comparatively  early  age  of  twenty-seven  Mr. 
Maginn  was  thus  placed  as  Pastor  over  a  community  of 
ten  thousand  souls.  He  took  up  his  residence  at  Bun- 
crana,  a  little  watering-place  of  about  a  thousand  inhab- 
itants. His  mission  extended  over  a  country  which  as 
early  as  the  seventh  century  had  been  covered  with  cells 
and  schools.  In  the  annals  of  Ulster,  mention  is  fre- 
quently made  of  Fahan-Mura  and  the  miracles  of  its 
patron.  The  noble  house  of  O'Neil  invoked  him  as  their 
special  intercessor ;  on  his  Gospel  some  of  the  most  sol- 
emn treaties  of  the  northern  tribes  were  ratified,  and  his 
crozier  (for  he  was  a  Bishop  or  Abbot)  was  preserved 
with  awe  and  veneration  down  to  the  destructive  era  of 
"  the  -Reformation."  From  that  dismal  date  no  diocese 
suffered  more  severely  than  Derry.  Successive  Bishops 
and  Abbots  were  put  to  death  as  fast  as  discovered ; 
others  fled  into  exile  and  there  died ;  the  Prior  of  Cole- 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


41 


raine,  in  Croriiwell's  time,  was  flung  into  the  Bann  and 
stoned  to  death  by  the  Puritan  soldiery  ;  a  Bishop  who 
returned,  at  the  peril  of  his  life  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne,  hired  as  a  common  shepherd  on  the  uplands  of 
Magilligan,  renewing  in  his  own  person  the  experience  of 
Saint  Patrick,  who,  from  having  been  an  enslaved  shep- 
herd of  sheep,  became  a  spiritual  shepherd  of  souls. 

The  year  in  which  Mr.  Maginn  became  a  Parish  Priest 
of  his  diocese,  was,  as  we  said,  the  same  in  which  "  the 
Emancipation  Act"  became  the  law  of  the  land.  A  new 
policy  towards  Catholics  was  thus  initiated  by  the  State ; 
and  new  relations  must  needs  be  established  between  the 
Church  and  State.  With  Catholic  peers  and  commoners 
in  Parliament,  Catholic  judges  on  circuit,  and  Catholic 
magistrates  in  every  neighborhood,  the  necessity  for  a 
a  wider  range  of  observation,  a  higher  tone,  and  an  en- 
larged legislation,  naturally  devolved  upon  the  Hierarchy. 

The  Irish  Church  did  not  want  for  learned  and  pru- 
dent prelates  in  that  emergency.  Dr.  Doyle,  Dr.  Mur- 
ray, and  Dr.  McHale,  were  by  acquirements  and  position 
the  most  influential  of  their  order.  Each  had  borne  a 
patriotic  part  in  the  contest  just  closed,  each  sincerely 
desired  the  good  of  the  church  and  the  country,  but  each 
differed  widely  from  the  other,  as  to  the  best  means  of 
promoting  their  common  objects.  It  would  seem  that 
Dr.  Doyle  placed  his  chief  hope  in  the  education  of  the 
people,  Dr.  Murray  in  conciliating  the  government,  and 


42 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


Dr.  McHale  in  prolonged  agitation.  In  a  very  few  years 
the  gifted  "  J.  K.  L."  was  removed  from  the  scene ;  while 
many  new  measures  were  proposed,  and  many  new  dan- 
gers began  to  menace  the  lately  emancipated  Church. 
Between  1830  and  '40  the  Tithe  question  was  compro- 
mised ;  the  corporations  were  thrown  open  to  Catholics ; 
the  national  school  system  was  introduced;  the  new 
Poor  law  went  into  operation  ;  official  intercourse  with 
Rome,  and  a  state  provision  for  the  clergy,  were  discussed 
and  dropped,  resumed  and  postponed.  The  Hierarchy 
though  not  recognized  by  their  titles  were  treated  very 
ceremoniously ;  the  least  advance  on  the  part  of  any 
of  them,  was  graciously  received ;  drafts  of  "  government 
measures"  were  more  than  once  submitted  to  their  judg- 
ment ;  and  a  constant  anxiety  was  shown  to  attach  them 
to  the  interest  of  Imperial  parties.  Three  or  four  of  the 
Bishops  were  supposed  to  be  so  propitiated  by  these  at- 
tentions, as  to  overlook  the  continued,  disregard  of  popu- 
lar demands  by  successive  ministries  and  Parliaments. 
The  National  School  system  was  found  on  trial  to  be 
very  defective,  and  by  some,  absolutely  mischievous ; 
the  Poor  law  had  many  cruel  drawbacks  in  the  eyes  of 
a  proverbially  charitable  people ;  the  Irish  representation 
was  shamefully  disproportionate  to  that  of  the  Empire  at 
large ;  and  the  power  of  the  landlord  class  remained  as 
absolute  over  the  tenantry,  as  before.  The  great  body 
of  the  Bishops  continued  on  these  grounds  to  mingle  in 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  KEV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


43 


public  affairs,  following  with  unabated  zeal  the  lead  of 
Mr.  O'Connell,  who  in  turn,  was  equally  willing  to  be 
advised  and  led  by  them.  The  second  order  of  the  clergy 
were  almost  to  a  man  of  the  same  party ;  and  none  of 
their  body  more  entirely  so,  than  the  new  Parish  Priest 
of  Fahan  and  Desertegney. 

The  peculiarities  of  his  position,  not  less  than  his  ardent 
temperament,  brought  the  Eev.  Mr.  Maginn  frequently 
before  the  public.  The  Catholics  of  the  peninsula  were 
"  twelve  to  one"  against  all  other  denominations.  They 
were  still  distinguishable  into  clans,  and  still  spoke  Gaelic. 
Their  market  and  court-town  was  Derry,  the  Urhs  In- 
tacta of  a  hostile  race  and  creed.  The  proscriptive  Pro- 
testantism of  the  maiden  city  had  withstood  the  gentle 
influence  of  Dean  Berkley,  the  zealous  liberalism  of  its 
famous  Bishop-Earl,  and  the  fraternal  spirit  of  the  volun- 
teers and  United  Irishmen.  Proud  of  its  notoriety  as 
the  city  which  repulsed  King  James,  it  looked  down 
with  scorn  not  unmingled  with  apprehension  on  the  gi- 
gantic Innishowen  men  who  came  to  mingle  in  its  mar- 
kets, and  sometimes  to  settle  within  its  walls.  On  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Foyle,  an  Irish  town  had  arisen, 
such  as  grew  up  without  the  walled  Norman  boroughs 
of  the  Leinster  pale ;  in  its  midst  the  hated  cross  was 
lifted  on  high,  Catholic  rites  were  constantly  celebrated, 
the  Bishop  took  up  his  permanent  residence,  and  thus 
the    citadel   of  religion,   like  another   Santa  Fe,  con- 


44 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


fronted  its  powerful  rival,  entrenched  and  "  established" 
on  the  opposite  hill  side.  It  was  not  without  grief  and 
indignation  that  the  citizens  and  apprentices  of  Derry 
beheld  these  alarming  encroachments  of  the  Papal  power, 
and  many  a  bitter  local  controversy  marked  the  progress 
of  the  revolution.  To  the  Catholics  in  those  contests  a 
ready  pensman  and  a  prudent  chief  were  necessary,  and 
these  Providence  supplied  them  in  the  person  of  our  sub- 
ject. Mr.  Maginn's  first  organ  of  communication  with 
the  public  was  the  Derry  Chronicle^  edited  by  Sheehan,  a 
native  of  Celbridge,  County  Kildare,  afterwards  better 
known  as  editor  of  the  Comet,  a  satirical  and  national 
Dublin  newspaper.  After  the  Chronic's  decease  the 
Journal  was  always  open  to  him,  as  was  subsequently, 
when  he  became  more  influential,  all  the  local  press.  In 
these  papers  he  appeared  anonymously  under  a  great 
variety  of  titles,  and  when  the  matter  was  too  personal  or 
too  tempting  for  satire,  a  friendly  local  printer  was  always 
ready  to  issue  his  pasquinades  in  broadsheet  form.*  The 
multitude  of  local  questions  on  which  he  wrote  either 
to  the  press  or  officials  it  would  be  impossible  to  enu- 
merate ;  the  principals  were  against  the  appointment  of 
an  exclusively  Protestant  magistracy  in  Innishowen  ;  in 
favor  of  calling  to  the  bench  the  Doherty's  of  Glen,  and 
others  of  the  old  Catholic  families ;  against  the  violence 

*  Some  of  those,  such  as  »*  The  Troubles  of  the  Kirk"  arc  in  verse, 
but  they  would  not  add  to  the  reputation  of  Dr.  Maginn's  abilities. 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


45 


exhibited  in  '33  and  '34  in  the  collection  of  Tithes; 
against  the  removal  of  an  impartial  stipendiary  magis- 
trate in  1837 ;  and  against  the  removal  of  a  lieutenant 
of  po]'  <■  ^  had  won  the  c-  iinience  of  the  people; 
against  frequeiiL  proceedings  of  the  magistrates  at  quarter 
sessions,  which  he  represented  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  as 
likely  to  bring  the  administration  of  justice  into  contempt. 
In  all  these  communications,  whether  to  the  press  or  the 
castle,  he  takes  without  apology  the  tone  and  position  of 
a  protector  of  his  poor  people — a  character  which  ad- 
mirably harmonizes  with  that  of  a  Priest,  in  such  a  state 
of  society  as  then  existed  in  the  North  of  Ireland. 

To  root  out  and  totally  destroy  secret  agrarian  socie- 
ties, was  a  favorite  task  of  the  Pastor  of  Fahan.  In  his 
neighborhood  it  was  one  of  no  ordinary  difficulty,  be- 
cause there  such  societies  were  bound  up  with  an  exten- 
sive popular  interest — illicit  distillation  and  smuggling. 
"  Innishowen,"  as  every  one  knows,  is  the  name  ^ar  ex- 
cellance  for  genuine  whiskey.  In  the  wild  recesses  of  the 
peninsula,  where  the  goats  alone  could  find  their  way, 
the  daring  defier  of  London  law  guarded  his  busy  worm 
and  his  well-stocked  crypt.  A  special "  revenue"  police, 
trained  to  all  sorts  of  wiles  and  adventures,  was  at  length 
established  to  hunt  down  the  stilk ;  but  some  intrepid 
followers  of  the  forbidden  calling,  if  fame  may  be  be- 
lieved, still  hold  out  in  their  fastnesses,  despite  all  the 
forces  and  all  the  ingenuity  of  her  Majesty's  excise. 


46 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


Against  all  oath-bound  associations,  Mr.  Maginn,  whether 
in  the  palpit  or  on  his  visits  to  the  homes  of  the  people, 
waged  incessant  war.  One  of  his  controversies  relating 
to  this  subject  accidently  became  public.  In  '37,  O'Don- 
nel,  an  approver  or  crown  witness,  residing  at  Buncrana, 
deposed  that  Mr.  Maginn's  servant  named  James  Doherty, 
had  asked  him  if  he  would  take  ten  pounds  to  shoot  a 
landlord  who  had  ejected  his  (Doherty's)  mother  from  her 
holding.  After  lodging  this  information  the  approver 
sent  word  to  the  accused  to  quit  the  country,  "  for  he  had 
done  his  job,"  an  advice  which  the  latter,  having  slim 
faith  in  landlord  justice,  forthwith  did.  The  local  ene- 
mies of  Mr.  Maginn,  that  Orange  magistracy  which  he 
had  never  spared,  did  not  hesitate  to  hint  in  conversa- 
tion, that  he  had  been  a  harborer  of  ribbon -men,  and 
privy  to  the  escape  of  his  servant  These  allusions  being 
given  to  the  public  in  1840,  by  a  Mr.  McClintock  Spence, 
occasioned  an  animated  correspondence  in  the  Derry 
Journal^  of  two  years'  duration.  In  his  letters,  Mr.  Ma- 
ginn proved  that  he  had  been  the  most  effective  enemy 
of  all  illegal  associations  in  his  barony ;  that  he  had 
handed  over  to  the  police  in  his  own  chapel-yard,  one 
"Walch,  a  suspected  agent  of  such  societies ;  that  there 
was  not  then  in  his  entire  mission  a  single  Catholic  en- 
gaged in  any  way  in  such  lawless  combinations.  He 
challenged  the  most  rigid  inquiry  into  this  latter  state- 
ment, a  challenge  which  was  not  accepted  by  the  other 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


47 


i 


side.  He  does  not  directly  deny  being  privy  to  the  es- 
cape of  his  servant  Doherty,  though  he  does  wholly  dis- 
claim all  knowledge  of  his  complicity  with  the  ribbon- 
men,  if  he  were  really  guilty.  As  a  curious  illustration 
of  the  "administration  of  justice"  in  Ireland,  we  have 
given  below,  his  summary  statement  of  the  provocations 
systematically  offered  to  the  Innishowen-men,  with  which 
the  Spence  correspondence  opened. 

BcNCBANA,  April  7, 1840. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Londonderry  Journal : 

Sir, — On  Satardaj,  the  5th  Inst.,  an  article  appeared  'n  the  Sentinel, 
headed  "  Incendiarism,"  which  more  or  less  affects  the  character  of 
this  neighborhood.  It  will  not,  I  would  fain  hope,  be  considered  ob- 
trusive in  me  to  set  the  public  right  on  this  subject  of  the  Sentinel s 
communication.  Newspapers,  like  individuals,  are  subject  to  be  mis- 
led ;  and  never  did  any  correspondent  impose  further  on  any  paper  or 
any  person,  than  the  Sentinel's  correspondent  did  on  that  occasion. 

"  On  tue  night  of  Friday,  the  27th  ult.  (states  the  Sentinel)  about  the 
hour  of  11  o'clock,  an  attempt  was  made  to  burn  the  house  of  a  man 
named  O'Donnell,  who  lives  in  the  Pound-lane,  Buncrana,  by  setting 
the  thatch  in  the  rear  of  it  on  fire.  O'Donnell  was  in  bed,  but  fortu- 
nately made  the  discovery  in  time  to  preserve  his  dwelling,  and  has- 
tened, almost  in  a  state  of  nudity,  to  apprise  the  police." 

That  an  attempt  was  made  to  set  O'Donnell's  house  on  fire  we  cheer- 
fully admit ;  but  the  question  is  yet  undecided  by  whom  the  coal  was 
put  into  O'Donnell's  house.  The  general  impression  is,  and  was  at  the 
time,  that  the  coal  was  put  into  it  by  O'Donnell  himself.  The  strong- 
est circumstantial  evidence  is  at  present  in  the  hands  of  Capt.  Roberts 
against  O'Donnell.  It  was  sworn  by  an  aged  and  respectable  woman, 
his  door  neighbor,  that  she  saw  him  cross  the  wall  from  the  rear  of  his 
house  not  ten  minutes  before  he  called  on  the  police  ;  secondly,  that 
when  she  saw  him  cross  the  wall,  he  had  his  clothes  on,  and  that,  a  few 
minutes  afterwards,  she  saw  him  return  with  the  police  in  a  state  of 
nudity.    She  furthermore  declared  on  oath,  that  from  the  time  she 


48 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


Baw  him  coming  from  the  rear  of  his  house,  it  appeared  to  her  almost 
impossible  for  him  to  have  had  sufflcient  time  to  toko  off  his  clothes. 
Bradley  the  whitesmith,  in  the  Found-lane,  O'Donnell's  intimate  friend, 
when  questioned  on  oath  with  respect  to  the  circumstances,  corrobo- 
rated her  testimony. 

When  the  police  arrived,  there  was  scarcely  a  handftil  of  the  thatch 
burned.  Connecting,  sir.  the  ciroamstanecs  of  this  case  of  O'Donnell's 
burning  with  the  circumstances  of  another  equally  infamous  case,  I  am 
induced  to  believe  that  those  paid  informers  of  the  government  are 
setting  every  engine  which  human  ingenuity  or  the  malice  of  hell  can 
invent,  to  enhance  their  own  value  by  disturbing  the  peace  of  the 
country,  and  blackening  the  character  of  the  peasantry  of  these  par- 
ishes. 

Five  or  six  threatening  notices  were,  as  these  gentlemen  approvers 
say,  served  on  them  ;  these  notices  were  handed  to  the  police,  sent  for- 
ward to  head-quarters  ;  the  county  represented  in  a  state  of  rebellion ; 
strange  magistrates  brought  to  adjudicate  on  the  rebels  of  this  dis- 
trict ;  the  constabulary  privileged,  without  reading  the  riot  act  or 
anything  else,  to  beat  the  ^<easantry  on  their  way  home  ;  and  lately, 
when  a  foolish  boy  threw  a  stone,  who  had  been  maltreated,  orders 
were  given  by  a  subaltern  to  charge  and  fire  on  the  people.  Many  of 
the  peasantry  were  severely  injured,  and  one  of  them  was  stabbed  and 
left  weltering  in  his  blood.  When  summonses  were  issued  for  the  ag- 
grieved by  the  aggressors,  it  comes  out,  after  Ibeir  trial  and  acquittal, 
that  these  threatening  notices  were  fabricated  by  their  paid  approvers 
->-those  very  persons  privileged  to  insult  and  annoy  the  people — the 
patronized  of  the  police  and  the  government.  *    * 

It  is  worth  pausing  to  consider  how  such  an  inevitable 
opposition  between  a  popular  clergy  and  an  unpopular 
aristocracy,  must  have  affected  all  Irish  ideas  of  subor- 
dination, of  duty,  and  of  justice.  In  a  society  where  the 
privileged  claso  are  worthy  of  their  rank,  the  clergy 
would  naturally  be  their  associates  and  allies ;  the  peo- 
ple would  as  naturally  yield  them  a  willing  and  reveren- 
tial obedience.    In  Ireland — in  Ulster  more  especially — 


- 


LITE  OF  RiaHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAQINN. 


49 


this  happy  harmony  of  interests  and  influences  was  totally 
impossible.  It  was  almost  invariably  the  duty  of  the 
Pastor  of  souls  to  set  himself  against  the  .lord  of  the 
soil,  of  the  teacher  of  obedience  to  become  a  leader  in 
resistance,  of  the  preacher  of  peace,  to  take  a  tone  of  op- 
position, even  of  menace.  Thus  society  went  wrangling 
on ;  the  clergy  denouncing  the  vengeance  of  heaven  on 
the  more  obdurate  gentry ;  the  vindictive  among  the 
gentry  inflicting  all  the  local  annoyances  they  could  in- 
vent upon  the  heads  of  the  clergy.  In  this  conflict  of 
interests  and  positions  the  uninformed  rural  mind  was 
shocked  and  confused,  and  but  for  the  stay  and  prop  of 
religion  might  easily  have  fallen  into  the  last  stage  of 
anti-social  savagery.  Mr.  Maginn's  letters  after  his  ap- 
pointment as  Parish  Priest,  are  largely  made  up  of  ap- 
peals to  the  Castle  against  the  abuse  of  power  by  the 
neighboring  magistrates,  and  other  controversies  with 
them  and  their  class.  His  vigilance  and  fearlessness 
are  conspicuous  in  every  instance,  but  the  details  of 
these  local  affairs  could  hardly  interest  the  general  reader. 
A  more  congenial  object  of  his  activity  was  the  foun- 
dation of  new  Schools.  He  felt  instinctively  from  his 
love  of  the  country  that  she  was  passing  out  of  one  cycle 
of  existence  into  another.  He  discerned  on  the  face  of 
the  land  those  patches  of  pitchy  darkness,  which  the 
statist  depicts  on  the  map  of  comparative  education. 

He  thoroughly  adopted  the  maxim  of  Dr.  Doyle,  that 
3 


50 


LIFIC  OF  RIOUT  KEY.   EDWAKD  MAOINN. 


1 


"  next  to  the  blessing  of  redemption,  and  the  graces  con* 
sequent  upon  it,  there  is  no  gift  bestowed  by  God,  equal 
in  value  to  a  good  education."  Before  the  National 
Schools  were  introduced,  he  had  visited  many  parts  of 
England  and  Ireland,  soliciting  the  aid  of  the  charitable 
and  benevolent,  to  enable  him  to  erect  a  school-house 
and  chapel  for  the  accommodation  of  four  hundred  and 
ten  families,  hitherto  destitute  of  the  means  of  instruc- 
tion."* The  introduction  of  the  new  school  system  in 
1834,  presented  him  with  unexpected  facilities  for  fol- 
lowing up  his  favorite  project.  The  theory  of  this  sys- 
tem was  very  far  indeed  from  perfection,  and  its  mixed 
Board  of  Commissioners  looked  more  like  a  compromise 
of  essential  truths,  than  a  natural  or  desirable  co-opera- 
tion. Yet  whatever  the  shortcomings  of  the  system,  its 
administrators  gave  practical  safeguards  to  parents  and 
pastors,  which  in  Mr.  Maginn's  eyes  compensated  for  its 
defects.  The  Board  appointed  by  government  could 
alone  decide  what  was  to  be  taught  during  school -hours ; 
the  Board  could  refuse  its  quota  to  the  teacher  and  prac- 
tically close  the  school ;  but  then  the  resident  heads  of 
families  were  to  be  joint  founders  of  the  school  and  pay- 
masters of  the  teacher,  with  the  Board ;  the  local  clergy- 
man could  become  the  patron  of  the  school,  could  visit 
it  and  supervise  every  detail  of  its  management.  As  the 
system  could  not  succeed  without  the  sanction  of  the 

*  Extract  from  Mr.  Maginn's  Circular,  dated  March,  1833 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  RKV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


61 


Catholic  clergy,  the  Pastor  of  Fahan  was  looked  upon 
hy  the  Board  as  a  valuable  ally.  In  the  course  he  took 
ho  had  with  him  the  majority,  not  all,  of  the  members  of 
his  order.  The  distinguished  Archbishop  of  Tuam  and 
a  powerful  mijiority  continued  for  years,  and  a  few  of 
their,  survivors  still  continue,  hostile  to  the  whole  system. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  special  facts — ^such  as  the 
introduction  of  Dr.  Whately's  Arian  lessoas  into  the 
schools — went  far  to  justify  their  hostility.  C''>  the 
other  hand,  the  experience  of  twenty  years  has  d  islpated 
the  worst  apprehensions  of  the  first  opjo^jnts  of  the 
schools,  since  it  is  well-known  that  the  young  men  and 
maidens  educated  on  their  forms  have  come  out  into  the 
world  not  less  Catholic  or  less  Irish  than  the  generality 
of  preceding  generations.  It  was  natural  that  the  pa- 
triots of  '84  should  fear  the  gift  of  the  Greeks,  especially 
when  presented  by  the  hands  of  a  Stanley ;  but  it  was 
no  small  evidence  of  statearaanship  to  foresee  at  that 
time  how  the  gift  might  be  us***!  for  the  common  good, 
agreeably  to  the  highest  requirements  of  religious  duty. 
Previous  to  1840,  we  find  the  money  orders  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Education  made  payable  to  Mr.  Ma- 
ginn  as  Patron  of  the  National  Schools  (male  and  fe- 
male), situated  at  Dumfries  and  Cristagh,  also  of  the 
schools  of  Meenagh,  and  upper  and  lower  lilies.  To- 
wards the  first-named  schools  the  Commissioners  con- 
tributed eighteen  pounds  per  year,  to  the  second  sixteen 


62 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  BDWABD  MAGINN. 


pounds,  to  the  third  ten,  and  the  last  eight  pounds. 
They  granted  in  each  case  to  start  the  school  a  gratu- 
itous stock  of  books,  and  engaged  to  supply  their  stand- 
ard works  afterwards,  on  the  patrons'  and  teachers'  joint 
order,  at  half  price.  In  return,  they  stipulated  that  the 
schools  should  be  open  to  the  inspectors  appointed  by 
the  National  Board,  should  teach  according  to  their 
system,  and  should  put  up  their  title  on  the  outside  of 
each  school-house.  This  necessity  of  the  Board  work- 
ing through  the  local  pastor,  placed  Mr.  Maginn  in  the 
enviable  position  of  the  educator  of  Innishowen.  With 
his  accustomed  energy,  he  discharged  the  onerous  duties 
of  his  self-imposed  office.  His  success,  and  the  sacrifices 
he  made  to  compass  it,  naturally  gave  him  a  strong 
claim  on  the  Board,  and  a  right  to  take  the  high  tone 
which  we  find  him  assuming  in .  the  controversy  which 
arose  in  1840.  In  that  year  the  Synod  of  Ulster,  which 
had  previously  opposed  the  national  system,  agreed  by 
a  majority  to  co-operate  in  its  dissemination.  As  a  con- 
sequence, the  Moderator  (Dr.  Henry,  we  believe)  was 
added  to  the  Board,  which  at  once  entered  into  a  corre- 
spondence with  all  the  friendly  Presbyterian  ministers. 
The  same  year  a  circular  of  the  Commissioners,  com- 
plaining that  the  school-houses  were  suffered  to  fall  out 
of  repair,  and  inviting  the  local  trustees  to  transfer  the 
deeds  by  which  they  were  held  from  the  local  patrons 

to  the  Board,  excited  in  Mr.  Maginn  serious  aporehen- 
9 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWABD  MAGINN. 


68 


sions.  Having  occasion  to  address  their  secretaries  on 
a  local  matter,  he  wrote  the  following  decided  letter 
in  relation  to  these  innovations. 


BEV.  MR.  MAGINN  TO  THE   SECRETARIES  OF  THE   NATIONAL  BOARD 

OF  EDUCATION. 

BuNCRANA,  Jviy  22, 1840. 

Dear  Sirs,— I  have  written  twice  to  your  office  within  the  last  eight 
weeks,  relative  to  the  aid  we  require  from  the  Commissioners  to  erect 
a  national  schoolhouse  at  Ballymacany,  in  the  County  of  Donegal. 
In  your  letter  dated  the  first  October,  1839,  you  promised  that  when- 
ever your  funds  should  be  replenished  by  the  government  grant,  our 
application  on  said  subject  would  be  taken  into  consideration.  I  beg 
leave  to  refer  you  to  your  letter  to  me  of  said  date  of  the  first  Octo- 
ber. It  is  rather  strange,  and  I  must  say,  unaccountable,  that  you  did 
not  think  proper  to  reply  to  my  two  last  letters,  the  more  pressing,  as 
the  season  for  building  is  far  advanced,  and  this  is  the  only  time  in 
which  the  peasantry  of  the  country  can  co-operate  with  us  without  loss 
or  inconvenience  to  themselves.  I  am  convinced  that  a  rumor  that  is 
here  in  circulation  cannot  be  founded  in  fact,  viz.,  that  a  Catholic  cler- 
gyman is  not,  for  the  future,  to  expect  any  attention,  even  the  ordinary 
courtesies  of  life,  from  you,  since  your  establishment  has  become  the 
betrothed  of  the  Synod  of  Ulster.  I  would  say  at  least,  no  matter 
how  you  may  feel,  that  it  would  be  rather  imprudent  tb  throw  off  at 
once  your  old  friends,  who  made  many  sacrifices  for  your  sake,  to  press 
to  your  bosoms  your  new  adherents,  even  before  the  echo  of  their  sweet 
voices,  styling  you  "  infidel,"  "  impious,"  "  mutilators  of  the  Word  of 
God,"  &c.,  had  died  in  the  distance.  Bather  strange  things  have  oc- 
curred in  this  neighborhood  and  that  of  Derry ;  National  Schools  and 
opposition  National  Schools— schools  founded  on  the  broad  principles . 
on  which  you  set  out,  and  never,  in  a  single  iota,  deviating  from  the 
same,  neither  honor,  honesty  or  truth  violated  in  their  management, 
and  schools  founded  on  exclusive  principles,  in  every  respect  sectarian 
and  bigoted — schools  established  for  no  other  purpose  but  to  dissociate 
the  members  of  the  same  community,  because  it  would  not  suit  their 
bigoted  and  persecuting  spirit,  or  their  views  of  Orthodoxy  to  have 
us,  the  unclean  thing,  reading,  writing,  &c.,  in  the  same  apartment 
with  the  predestinated,  now  all  under  the  same,  your  patronage.    I 


54 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAQINN. 


I  I 


have  manj  more  things  to  saj  on  that  subject  which  I  will  reserve  for 
another  time,  when,  perhaps,  it  may  be  necessary  for  me  to  lay  the 
iome  before  the  Commissioners  or  the  public.  You  would  oblige  me 
Dy  at  once  informing  me  how  far  we  can  rely  on  you  for  aid  towards 
the  erection  of  the  Ballymacarry  schoolhoose.  I  have  neither  time 
nor  leisure  to  be  constantly  writing  on  that  subject.  I  am  anxious,  it 
is  true,  to  have  the  poor  people  educated,  but  it  shall  not  be  at  the 
sacrifice  of  any  principle.  No  man^now-a-days  need  flatter  himself 
that  the  Catholic  people  or  clergy  can  be  made,  as  heretofore,  the  dupes 
or  slaves  of  any  sect  or  party.  We  are  anxious  to  live  at  peace  with 
all  men ;  to  carry  out  your  system  upon  fair  grounds ;  to  bring  the 
children  up  together  in  amity,  and  thereby  promote  the  future  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  our  common  country  ;  but  believe  me,  Sirs, 
they  are  far  deceived  who  think  that  we  are  so  degraded  in  spirit  as 
to  submit  to  have  the  rights  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  filched 
away  by  the  most  grasping,  griping  and  intolerant  religionists  that 
ever  cursed  any  nation.  The  new  aspect  which  the  workings  of  your 
system  in  this  diocese  present  has  made  deep  impressions  on  the  warm- 
est advocates  of  the  Board  in  this  quarter,  and  I  am  much  afraid  that 
ere  long,  patriotism,  and  principle  and  truth  will  compel  them,  how- 
ever reluctantly,  to  join  Connaught  in  its  protest  against  a  system 
which  raised  their  hopes,  only  to  end  in  the  most  bitter  disappointment. 
I  regret  that  I  have  had  occasion  to  write  this  much.  I  consider,  how- 
ever, honesty  and  candor  the  best  and  safest  policy.  Anxiously  await- 
ing your  reply,  I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Edward  Maoinn,  P.  P.  of  Fahan,  &c. 

Messrs.  Cross  and  Dowdall,  Joint  Secretaries  of  the  National  Board 
OfBce  of  Euacation,  Marlborough  Street,  Dublin. 

P.  S.  In  your  letter  of  the  1st  October,  you  stated  that  the  applica- 
tions of  the  years  '37  and  '8  should  be  first  disposed  of,  before  any 
new  ones  could  be  entertained.  In  last  report  of  Commissioners,  it  is 
stated  that  the  applications  of  said  years  were  disposed  of,  so  that  ours 
being  made  in  the  year  '39  should  now  come  under  the  Board's  consid- 
eration. The  aid  already  afforded  in  this  quarter  was,  I  admit,  consid- 
erable, but  you  are  not  to  forget  that  in  said  aid  three  extensive  par- 
ishes were  contemplated,  and  taking  into  account  extra  parochial 
places  over  which  we  have  the  spiritual  superintendence,  including  in 
all  over  twelve  thousand  of  a  poor  population.  E.  M. 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


55 


And  fearing  that  his  private  remonstrances,  however 
emphatic,  might  fail  to  arrest  the  dangers  which  he  fore- 
saw, he  addressed  to  the  press  many  urgent  argu- 
ments against  the  transfer  of  the  trusts  from  the  local 
guardians  to  official  hands.  When,  in  addition  to  these 
changes,  the  Board  proposed  to  erect  a  certain  number 
of  model  schools  in  the  chief  cities,  Mr.  Maginn  drew 
up  a  series  of  resolutions  for  a  meeting  of  the  supporters 
of  the  schools  founded  by  him,  more  fully  expressive 
of  his  opposition.  As  stating  the  whole  question  at 
issue,  we  give  the  resolutions  from  his  manuscript. 

RESOLUTION  CONCERNING  THE   NATIONAL   SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  III 

IRELAND. 

Resolved,  Firstly,  That  as  one  of  the  reasons  assigned  by  His  late 
Holiness,  Gregory  XVI.,  for  a  toleration  of  the  National  System  of  Ed- 
ueation,  was  the  supposition  that  especial  care  would  be  taken  to  have 
the  trust  of  the  National  School-houses  exclvMvely  vested  in  the  Catho- 
lic bishops  and  clergy,  we  cannot  view  without  alarm  the  pretensions 
lately  put  forward  by  the  Commissioners  of  said  National  Education, 
to  have  the  trusts,  already  vested  in  the  Catholic  bishops,  clergy,  or 
Catholic  people,  transferred  from  them  to  the  Commissioners,  and  the 
determination  of  said  Commissioners  not  to  allow  any  grant  to  be 
made  to  any  school-house  to  be  erected,  unless  the  premises  be  hence- 
forth vested  in  themselves,  we  look  upon  as  pregnant  with  danger  to 
the  best  innterests  of  reigion,  as  it  must  have  been  thereby  intended, 
to  remove  altogether  the  direction  and  control  of  the  education  of  the 
Catholic  people  from  the  hands  of  the  Catholic  clergy  and  laity,  to 
their  inspectors  or  ofScers,  irresponsible  to  Catholic  ecclesiastical  su- 
pervision, and  for  that  reason  unworthy  of  Catholic  confidence. 

Secondly.  That  it  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  the  Catholic  prelacy  of 
Ireland  to  prevent,  by  all  justifiable  means,  the  trusts  vested  in  them, 
their  clergy  or  people,  from  being  transferred  to  the  Commissioners ; 
and  to  discountenance  any  National  School  so  transferred,  and  to 


66 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


' 
i 


withhold  their  approbation  from  any  school-hoase  or  school  henceforth 
to  be  erected  or  established,  subject  to  these  new  and  insidious  regula- 
tions of  the  National  Board. 

Thirdly.  That  we  view  as  traitors  to  the  trust  reposed  in  them  the 
Catholic  Trustees  of  National  Schools,  who  have  allowed  or  will  allow 
the  trust  to  pass  from  their  hands,  and  thereby  sacrifloe  to  their  own 
eaae  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  community,  of  which  they  have  been 
constituted  the  guardians. 

Fourthly.  That  the  plea  put  forward  by  the  CommissionerB  for  the 
withdrawal  of  the  trust-deeds  from  the  local  Trustees  of  the  National 
Schools,  viz., "  that  the  school-houses  were  not  kept  in  sufScient  repair, 
and  that,  by  the  new  arrangement,  they  would  be  repaired  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Board,''  we  believe  to  be  a  crafty  device  to  induce  the 
Catholic  public  to  acquiesce,  without  opposition,  in  the  transfer  of 
their  trusts,  patronage  and  management  of  the  National  Schools ; 
since  the  Commissioners  could  as  well  have  repaired  the  school-houses 
at  the  public  expense  under  the  former  arrangement,  as  under  their 
new  regulations. 

Fifthly.  That  the  Model  Schools  about  to  be  erected  in  the  principal 
towns  of  Ireland,  being  altogether  conceived  on  the  same  plan,  are 
made  subject  to  the  same  regulations  as  the  Infidel  Colleges,  and  appar 
rently  projected  for  the  same  sinister  purposes,  ecclesiastical  supervis- 
ion being  wholly  excluded  from  them,  we  hereby  enter  our  solemn  pro- 
test against  them,  and  pledge  ourselves  to  discountenance  them,  unless 
the  principle  of  proper  ecclesiastical  control  be  recognized  in  their 
management,  which  we  cannot  renounce  without  relinquishing  our 
duties. 

With  this  controversy — in  which  he  was  so  far  suc- 
cessful as  to  arrest  the  alienation  of  school  titles  in  his 
own  and  the  adjoining  diocese — we  naturally  connect 
his  course  upon  the  government  system  of  academic 
education,  introduced  by  Sir  Eobert  Peel  in  1843.*    Of 

*  In  1847,  when  the  Catholics  of  Derry,  having  met  in  their  school 
house  to  present  Dr.  Maginn  ^ith  a  carriage,  as  a  token  of  their  re- 
gard, the  Commissioners  threatened  to  withdraw  their  grant  (£15  per 
year)  from  the  school.    This  led  to  another  unpleasant  correspondence 


fl 


LIFE  OP  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


57 


tliis,  however,  the  better  place  to  speak  will  be  under 
the  head  of  "  relations  and  correspondence  with  Eome," 
farther  on  in  the  narrative. 

These  various  displays  of  his  ever-ready  resources 
naturally  drew  towards  him  the  confidence  of  the  people 
and  the  deference  of  his  own  order ;  and  his  manners 
captivated  all  whom  his  fame  attracted.    During  the 


between  the  Board  and  the  Bishop,  from  which  we  give  an  extract  on 
his  part: 

"  If  I  be  not  misled  by  the  information  I  have  received,  there  has 
been  no  transfer  made  of  this  room  to  the  National  Board.  A  salaried 
teacher  under  the  National  Board  has  been  permitted  to  teach  in  it  by 
the  Catholic  people,  whose  property  it  is,  and  I  beg  to  inform  the  Com- 
missioners, on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  people  of  Derry,  that  they  re- 
cognize no  title  to  this  school-room  to  be  in  any  way  vested  in  the 
Commissioners.''  •  •  • 

"  I  wonld  most  respectflilly  suggest  to  the  Commisidoners  to  inquire 
of  their  superintendents  in  Derry  and  Coleraine,  how  many  Bible 
meetings,  prayer  meetings,  and  sectarian  meetings  of  every  cameleon 
hue,  and  even  worse  meetings  than  these  here  specified,  are  being  held 
weekly  and  monthly  in  this  and  the  neighboring  counties,  even  in 
tehoola  built  hy  the  National  Board.  It  may  be  that  such  meetings  in 
these  National  Schools  are  in  harmony  with  the  feelings  of  the  Com- 
missioners, and  not  prohibited  by  their  rules ;  but  that  it  is  only  in 
such  schools  as  have  been  built  by  the  Catholic  people  and  tfnder  Ca- 
tholic patronage  and  management,  that  the  Commissioners'  rules  pro- 
hibit meetings  of  the  Catholic  clergy  and  their  people  for  the  most 
inoffensive  and  non-sectaiian  purposes.  •  *  « 

"  I  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  National  System  and  the  Commia- 
missioners  for  many  years  back.  I  can  safely  say,  without  fear  of  con- 
tradiction, that  I  did  more  to  give  that,  system  a  fair  trial  and  a  re- 
spectable footing  at  great  personal  expense  and  inconvenience,  than 
any  other  individual  in  the  province.  To  have  the  Catholic  inhabit- 
ants of  Derry  thus  insulted  in  my  person  is  anything  but  the  gratitude 
I  expected  at  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners  or  theif  underlings." 


■\i 


68 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


■  i 


summer  season,  his  cottage  at  Buncrana  was  the  home 
of  the  clergy  who  resorted  to  that  watering-place.  His 
hospitality  to  his  brethren  was  only  inferior  to  his  char- 
ity to  the  poor.  His  genial  disposition,  his  conversa- 
tion ranging  through  a  wide  field  of  acquirement,  or 
fraught  with  poetic  fire,  or  bursting  into  brilliatft  sallies 
of  wit  and  humor,  gave  a  charm  to  his  entertainments 
which  mere  tasteless  wealth  never  can  command  to  its 
dull  festivals.  "Amid  the  wild  mountain  scenery  of 
Innishowen,"  says  one  of  the  journalists  who  poured  out 
his  tribute  of  sorrow  at  his  grave,  "  his  heart  was  wont 
to  expand  with  hopes  and  aspirations  of  future  happi- 
ness and  glory  for  Ireland.  Here  it  was  delightful  to 
listen  to  him,  in  the  language  and  spirit  of  Ossian,  pour 
forth  his  soul  in  alternate  accents  of  tenderness  and  in- 
dignation, describing  the  unhappy  condition  of  his  na- 
tive land;  and  many,  very  many,  whose  privilege  it 
was  to  enjoy  his  hospitality,  as  they  read  these  lines, 
will  remember  the  truly  happy  hours  they  spent  at  that 
saintly  and  hospitable  retreat."  "  His  pre-eminent  qual- 
ity," says  a  Derry  editor,  "  at  least  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  did  not  participate  in  his  religious  or  political  opin- 
ions, was  an  extreme  sensibility,  an  almost  womanish 
tenderness  of  heart,  which  was  not  sterile,  as  it  is  with 
some,  but  was  manifested,  not  ostentatiously,  in  corre- 
sponding acts.  His  charity,  and  also  his  hospitality, 
whether  as  parish  priest  or  coadjutor  bishop,  had  no 


LIPS  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


59 


limits  but  in  his  means ;  and  we  believe  that  of  tne  Pro- 
testants who  had  the  honor  of  his  acquaintance,  there 
is  not  one,  however  much  opposed  to  his  views,  who  ia 
not  prepared  to  acknowledge  that  in  the  exercise  of  those 
virtues  he  recognized  no  distinction  of  creeds.  He  felt 
ardently  on  all  subjects.  As  is  usual,  however,  with 
persons  of  that  temperament,  he  was  remarkably  placa- 
ble after  having  taken  offence ;  and  it  has  been  observed 
to  us  by  one  who  knew  him  well,  that  he  was  apt  to  re- 
store friendship  which  had  been  withdrawn,  with  more 
warmth  than  it  had  been  at  first  bestowed.  In  all  the 
moral  relations  of  life  he  was  as  blameless  as  a  human 
being  could  well  be ;  and  if  he  had  personal  enemies, 
which  is  very  questionable,  no  man  could  have  had 
fewer." 

With  such  personal  gifts,  superadded  to  a  reputation 
almost  national,  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  influ- 
ence he  exercised  throughout  Donegal  and  Derry.  He 
was  consulted  on  all  difficult  cases  by  his  diocesans,  and 
even  by  those  from  a  distance.  He  was  the  leading 
spirit  at  the  Conference,  and  on  the  public  platform. 
The  gentry  feared  and  courted  him  according  to  their 
consciousness  of  his  determination  of  character  and  their 
own  deserts.  The  poor  brought  their  grievances  to  him, 
and  he  was  seldom  without  needy  clients  and  cases  of 
oppression  at  his  gate.  All  he  had  he  gave ;  what  he 
wanted  for  the  poor  he  asked  fearlessly  of  the  rich,  and 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN, 

he  was  seldom  refused.  For  himself,  he  took  no  heed 
of  to-morrow,  remembering  always  the  parable  of  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  and  who  He  was  who  uttered  it. 
Though  no  man  was  bolder  in  God's  cause,  none  was 
ever  more  modest  in  his  own. 

His  brother  priests  manifested  their  regard  and  admi- 
ration for  him  on  all  public  occasions.  Invitations  to 
preaeh  abroad  on  great  festivals  poured  in  upon  him. 
He  rarely  accepted  these  beyond  the  limit  of  his  own 
diocese,  but  within  it  he  felt  every  parochial  necessity 
almost  as  keenly  as  his  own.  One  who  heard  him  in 
the  prime  of  life,  and  who  exhibits  respectable  talents 
in  the  portrait  he  then  drew  of  him,  has  thus  described  his 
style  and  effect  as  a  preacher  :* 

"  The  last  time  I  heard  him  was  on  the  27th  of  November,  1831, 
when  he  preached  a  charity  sermon  in  aid  of  the  Amds  for  erecting  a 
chapel,  in  a  district  where  snch  an  erection  was  grievotxsly  required. 
The  celebrity  which  he  has  obtained  as  a  preacher,  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  was  abont  to  speak,  and  the  subject  which  he  had 
chosen,  all  conspired  to  give  extraordinary  interest  to  this  discourse. 
My  own  expectations  were  sanguine,  and  yet  they  were  more  than  real- 
ized. There  is  something  irresistibly  prepossessing  in  the  first  appear^ 
anoe  of  this  man,  whish  secures  your  attention  even  before  he  has  said 
anything  fine.    The  senses  are  the  avenues  to  the  heart ;  and  his  strik- 


*  This  sketch  was  written  by  Mr.  Peter  McLaughlin,  a  diyinitiy 
student,  who  was  obliged  by  sickness  to  quit  College,  and  died  young. 
He  was  a  near  relation  of  the  Bishop  of  Derry  of  the  same  name, 
and  during  his  wanderings  through  his  native  province  in  search  of 
what  he  did  not  find— better  health — wrote  sketches  of  several  noted 
clergymen  for  the  Belfast  Vindicator.  This  of  Dr.  Maginn  is  headed 
"  Pulpit  Sketches,  No.  VII.,"  but  I  am  not  aware  that  it  was  published. 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWABD  MAOINN. 


61 


log  meln,  graoeAil  maaner  and  mellowey  tones  inaenaibly  oaptivate 
two  of  them,  by  the  time  he  has  rounded  his  first  period.  The  contour 
of  the  countenance  is  Byronio,  without  any  of  the  harsher  lineaments 
with  which  we  sometimes  see  Byron  portrayed.  The  first  feature  that 
takes  your  attention  is  the  lofty,  intellectual  forehead,  thrown  in  rich 
relief  by  a  profusion  of  sable  locks,  short,  thick,  crisp  and  curling ; 
then  the  eye,  well  set,  lucid  and  mind-lit ;  while  the  nose,  of  a  middle 
order  between  Grecian  and  aquiline,  gives  a  statuesque  correctness  to 
the  profile ;  and  there  is  an  air  of  winning  amenity  in  the  smile  of  Ma> 
glnn,  which  plays  around  his  mouth,  and  of  which  no  change  of  coun- 
tenance can  altogether  diyest  it  The  outline  belongs  to  a  high  order, 
the  features  are  strongly  marked  and  regular ;  yet  when  unexeited, 
expressing  more  placidity  than  ardor,  they  are  pensive,  pale  and  pas- 
sionless, but  when  he  addresses  himself  to  speak,  they  brighten  at  once 
into  animation  and  intelligence,  and  when  thoroughly  excited,  passion 
corrugates  his  brow,  and  burns  upon  his  cheek,  and  flashes  from  his 
eye,  but  still  the  lower  features,  indicative  only  of  the  milder  feelings, 
seem  unwilling  to  be  stem,  and  contribute  nothing  to  a  frown.  His 
discourse  on  this  occasion  was  masterly  and  emphatic ;  and  with  all 
the  embellishments  of  high  finish  and  elaborate  preparation,  it  pos- 
sessed the  singular  advantage,  so  essential  to  a  sermon,  of  being  so 
exactly  adapted  to  the  understanding  of  all  his  audience,  that  all 
seemed  perfectly  to  understand  him ;  and  while  it  astonished  by  its 
eloquence  and  the  brilliancy  of  its  illustrations,  it  instructed  by  the 
profundity  of  its  research  and  the  perspicuity  of  its  details,  it  warmed 
and  edified  the  heart  by  its  piety,  while  it  captivated  the  attention  by 
the  terseness  and  originality  of  its  diction,  and  all  the  varied  graces 
of  pure,  natural,  glowing  eloquence.  He  seems  to  know  that  his  busi- 
ness as  a  clergyman  is  to  persuade  rather  than  to  convince,  and  ac- 
cordingly he  does  not  make  a  useless  expenditure  of  his  powers,  in 
proving  what  requires  no  proof,  namely,  that  charity,  virtue,  reli^^on 
and  truth  are  good  things,  or  that  impiety,  irreligion  and  infidelity  are 
detestable  in  their  nature  and  ruinous  in  their  consequences ;  but  he 
labors  to  make  others  feel  these  solemn  truths  with  the  same  ardor 
and  intensity  as  himself;  in  short,  to  add  feeling  to  conviction,  and 
action  to  feeling.  His  msmner  is  so  earnest  and  impressive,  or  he  pos- 
sesses the  '  magna  ara  eelare  artem*  in  such  a  degree,  that  his  most 
elaborate  periods  seem  but  the  spontaneous  effusions  of  the  moment — 
the  warm  overflowings  of  the  heart -rather  than  the  matured  and  de- 


62 


LIF£  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


liberate  produotloni  of  the  head,  and  yoa  oannot  aoouae  that  of '  gmtll' 
ing  of  the  lamp'  which  eeems  to  come  free,  and  flresh-flowing  and  nn- 
porohased  as  the  fragrance  of  the  morning.  His  views  are  clear  and 
Tlyid,  and  he  has  a  full,  distinct  and  absolute  possession  of  his  suljeot ; 
a  warm  heart  and  a  cool  head  give  him  the  very  rare  combination  of 
cool,  strong,  practical  common  sense,  superadded  to  a  brilliant  and 
ejccursive  imagination,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  a  vigorous  poetic  fancy, 
combining  thus  «  with  the  flash  of  the  gem  its  solidity  too ;"  having 
read  much  and  reflected  more,  he  ranges  authors  in  flies  and  classifies 
them,  and  quotes  them  not  individually,  but  in  groups,  and  seems  as 
conversant  with  tho  Jeromes  and  the  Augustins,  the  Bossuets  and  the 
Bonaventures  of  bygone  times,  as  with  the  more  modern  lucubrations 
of  contemporary  genius.  He  has  thus  stored  his  mind  with  an  im- 
mense accumulation  of  general  and  diffusive  knowledge,  from  whence 
he  draws  at  pleasure  an  imagery  bold,  various  and  peculiar,  generally 
brilliant,  always  correct,  sometimes  striking,  never  inappropriate,  he 
is  not  the  man  to  pause  upon  a  poBsibillty,  to  dissect  a  doubt,  or  calcu- 
late a  contingence ;  he  does  not  willingly  descend  to  the  trifling  mi- 
nutiffi  of  frivolous  detail,  and  to  this  contempt  of  trifles,  more  than  to 
his  foreign  education,  may  be  traced  some  peculiarities  of  pronuncia- 
tion which  seem  to  have  escaped  correction  through  their  imputed  in- 
slgniflcaQce.  He  delights  in  splendid  generalities ;  and  armed  with 
thene  he  dashes  through  a  sophism,  or  marks  a  sentiment,  or  delineates 
a  character,  or  transfuses  a  passion  by  one  masterly,  inimitable  stroke. 
"  Words  that  breathe  and  thoughts  that  burn"  are  not  the  ornaments, 
but  the  staple  material  of  his  oratory,  and  he  is  not  felicitous  or  im- 
pressive only  In  pu^i>lcular  passages ;  but,  through  the  whole  arrange- 
ment and  tissue  of  his  composition,  he  never  loads  his  strong  concep- 
tions and  magnificent  imaginings,  with  any  useless  verbosity.  Manly, 
terse  and  nervous,  there  is  no  ostentatious  amplification  of  common 
sentiments,  no  prolixity,  no  redundance ;  everything  is  plain,  concise, 
condensed.  His  periods  are  as  solid,  as  complete  in  themselves,  and 
as  nicely  fitted  to  each  other  as  the  columns  at  the  Giant's  Causeway, 
and  like  them,  too,  they.form  one  majestic  whole,  of  which  yon  can 
hardly  say  whether  art  or  nature  has  done  most  in  the  formation. 

"  There  is  an  eternal  spring  of  fresh-blown  images,  that  seem  warmed 
into  existence  by  the  very  glow  of  his  emotions ;  the  loftiest  tones  ot 
his  voice  are  the  best  modulated  and  most  heart-thrilling ;  his  most 
vehement  gesticulation  is  by  far  the  most  graceful  and  commanding. 


\ 


LIF£  OF  RIOHTL  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


68 


Aided  by  all  these  natural  and  aoqalred  adrantagei,  he  maaagea  the 
loftiest  aod  etrongest  paeiioni  of  oar  nature*,  and  wields,  with  a  gi- 
ant's arm,  tho  pride  and  the  fears,  the  raptures  and  the  agonies  of  our 
nature,  the  very  air  and  fire  of  our  human  element ;  in  short,  if  that 
be  the  finest  composition  which  oonta<"8  the  greatest  number  of  the 
choicest  beauties ;  if  that  be  the  noblest  oratory  which  leaves  the 
deepest  and  most  indelible  impreasion ;  if  its  efSaota  on  the  heart  be 
the  test  of  its«zoel)ence,  Rev.  Edward  Maginn  may  fairly  be  allowed 
to  rank  superior  to  many,  and  inferior  to  none,  of  his  most  distin- 
guished contemporaries.'^ 


CHAPTER  III. 


0*C0inilLI.*8  LAST  ETFORT  FOR  REPEAL — MR.  MA0IlfN*8  f  BAL  III  TBAT 
AOITATIOIf^HIS  CORRESFOMDENOB  WITH  THE  MARQUIS  OF  KORMANBT 
—HIS  CONFIDENCE  IN  0*00?TNELL's  TRIUMPH— HIS  ELEVATION  TO  THB 
EPncOPACT— CONORATULATIONS  THEREUPON — NATIONAL  POLITICS— 
HIS  OPINION  OF  THE  TOUNO  IRELAND  PABTT — HU  SUCCESS  AS  AN 
ADMINISTRATOR. 

The  great  domestio  qaestion  in  Irish  politics,  f^om 
1840  till  1848,  was  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Union. 
In  '84  this  question  had  been  raised  in  the  country  and 
in  Parliament  by  Mr.  O'Connell,  who  was  sustained  in 
his  motion  by  forty -five  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons.* In  the  following  session  "  The  Liberator,"  as 
the  Catholics  fondly  and  justly  called  him,  abandoned 
the  question  for  an  experiment  of  "justice  to  Ireland," 
which  he  hoped  to  obtain  from  the  new  reform  adminis- 
tration of  the  Empire.  This  "justice"  he  sought  for  in 
a  series  of  measures  which  would  raise  Ireland  in  reli- 
gious freedom,  in  representation,  in  commerce  and  in 
patronage,  to  an  equality  with  the  imperial  island.  Dis- 
covering, after  five  years  support  of  the  British  whigs, 
that  the  prospect  of  such  equality  was  annually  grow- 

*  Forty-four  Irish  and  one  English  memher  (Sir  Joehtia  Walmsley) 
voted  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Union  in  '34. 


LIFE  OF  KIOUT  HEV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


65 


ing  less,  Mr.  O'Connell  in  1840  sot  on  foot  the  "  Loyal 
National  liopoal  Association,"  and  invited  all  good  Irish 
men  to  follow  him. 

In  the  Catholic  provinces,  this  invitation  was  re 
sponded  to  with  considerable  unanimity.  It  had  been 
the  natural  result  of  former  agitations  to  bring  out  a  local 
leader  in  every  town  and  barony,  each  a  small  O'Connell 
in  his  sphere,  and  these  magnates  naturally  took  the 
lead  in  the  new  combination.  In  Ulster,  however,  it 
was  different.  Except  the  Belfast  Vindtcatar^  Repeal  had 
no  organ  north  of  Newry.  The  Primate,  Dr.  CroUy, 
consecrated  in  1834,  cordially  fell  in  with  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin's  policy  of  conciliation,  and  his  nega- 
tive influence  had  its  effect. 

In  January,  1841,  Mr.  O'Connell,  to  test  the  north, 
made  his  somewhat  celebrated  visit  to  Belfast,  where  a 
Presbyterian  mob  was  excited  to  interrupt  and  assault 
him  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cooke,  the  principal  spokesman  of 
that  sect.  On  this  occasion,  he  was  met  at  Belfast  by 
the  Bishop  of  Derry  and  several  of  his  clergy,  including 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Maginn,  whose  national  enthusiasm  was 
always  on  the  alert.  They  were  witnesses  to  a  scene  of 
popular  commotion  far  ftom  honorable  to  the  Unionists 
and  Orangemen,  but  which  unquestionably  proclaimed 
that  the  worshippers  in  the  Kirk  were  opposed  to  the  re- 
storation of  the  Irish  Parliament.  They  could  see  in  it 
only  an  attempt  at  Catholic  ascendancy;  and  having 


66 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


I 

I 

H 
f 

.  ll 


long  known  what  it  was  to  exercise  exclusive  aut>  -  ^, 
they  could  not  imagine  that  Catholics  in  powei  «vould 
not  retaliate.  In  the  scale  of  the  Empire  they  were  se- 
cure though  insignificant;  and  as  they  had  not  yet 
learned  to  trust  those  who  so  recently  escaped  their  per- 
secutions, they  resolved  to  lend  their  influence  to  per- 
petuate the  provincialism  by  which  both  classes  were 
bowed  down. 

In  1843  and  '44,  the  repeal  agitation  was  at  the  full. 
"Monster  meetings"  of  half  a  million,  three-fourths, 
and  even  a  million  men,  obeyed  the  beck  of  O'Corinell. 
He  gathered  them  on  the  historic  hills  at  Lismore,  at 
Mallow,  at  MuUaghmast,  at  Tara — to  show  the  world 
that  Ireland,  after  forty  years  of  the  Union,  declared  it 
null  and  void.  He  spoke  mainly  words  of  peace,  though 
a  muttered  menace  sometimes  broke  the  tenor  of  his 
speech.  It  was  a  singular  spectacle ;  and  looking  back, 
at  this  distance,  on  the  multitude,  the  man,  and  the  cause, 
not  without  its  glory.  Where  O'Connell  could  not  pos- 
sibly attend  in  person,  it  was  th  jught  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  demonstration  of  the  national  will  by  drawing 
out  the  whole  able-bodied  population,  and  in  their  name 
and  presence,  denouncing  the  iniquitous  Union.  Such 
a  gathering  was  held  in  Innishowen,  on  Mondav.  the  7th 
day  of  August,  1843.  Mr.  Maginn  was  the  leading 
spirit  throughout  the  proceedings ;  the  resolutions  evi- 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  TREV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


67 


dently  ere  his;  the  cast  of  parts  his;  he  moved  the 
chairman ;  his  was  the  speech  of  the  day ;  he  presided 
at  the  concomitant  banquet  in  the  evening.  Thirty  oth^ 
priests  were  present;  from  50,000  to  100,000  men  formed 
the  auditory.  As  illustrative  of  the  spirit  of  the  times 
and  the  people,  we  quote  from  the  account  of  a  local 
paper,  not  committed  to  the  national  cause: — "This 
meeting,"  says  the  Berry  Journal^  "  which  took  place 
yesterday  in  the  central  town  of  Innishowen,  nineteen 
miles  from  Londonderry,  was  preceded  on  Sunday  by 
the  arrival  here  of  an  immense  number  of  Eepealers 
from  near  and  remote  parts  of  the  counties  Derry,  Ty- 
rone and  Donegal,  some  of  them  from  the  latter  county 
having  came  from  the  remote  barony  of  Boylagh.  The 
temperance  musical  band  of  Letterkenny  were  among 
the  arrivals,  but  we  presume  that  the  other  Eepealers  of 
that  town,  or  most  of  them,  found  their  way  to  the  place 
of  meeting  by  the  ferry  at  EathmuUan,  by  which  ferry, 
we  understand,  very  large  numbers  were  brought  across 
Lough  Swilly  to  Eunner-raw  Point,  within  a  few  miles 
of  Buncrana,  on  the  same  Sunday.  The  parties  who 
arrived  at  Derry  remained  in  Bishop-street,  outside  the 
walls,  during  the  day,  and  a  pledge  was  given  to  the 
Mayor  that  there  should  be  no  music,  which  was  duly 
observed.  To  quiet  all  alarm,  the  constabulary  were  in 
readiness ;  but  there  was  not  the  slightest  occasion  for 


68 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEV.  EDWABD  MAamN. 


their   services,   the   peace   having   been    undisturbed 
throughout  the  whole  day."* 

At  this  meeting,  a  petition  to  tne  sovereign,  drafted  by 
Mr.  Maginn,  was  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  transmitted 
to  the  Marquis  of  Normanby,  for  presentation.  The 
prayer  of  the  petition  was  that  "  her  Majesty  might 
deign  to  exercise  her  royal  prerogative  "  by  calling  to- 
gether the  Irish  Parliament.  Mr.  Maginn,  who  had,  half 
a  dozen  years  before,  presented  an  address  of  congratu- 
lation jfrom  the  inhabitants  of  Innishowen  to  the  Marquis, 
(then  Lord  Lieutenant),  conveyed  to  him  t!ie  request  of 
the  Carndonagh  monster  meeting  that  he  should  present 
their  prayer  to  the  Queen.    The  Marquis,  in  rather  a 

*  Mr.  Maginn's  speech  on  this  occasion  is  not  otherwise  remark'.ble 
than  for  betraying  the  nsnal  retrospective  habit  of  his  mind.  In  one 
place,  speaking  of  the  loyalty  of  Catholics,  he  said :  "  Abroad,  at 
home,  in  every  country  and  clime,  Irish  Catholics  stand  conspicuous 
for  loyal  and  enthusiastic  attachment  to  their  kings  and  princes.  It 
was  an  Iri^  Catholic  priest  who  accompanied  the  unfortunate  Louis  to 
the  scaffold,  and  who,  whilst  death  was  flinging  its  shadows  around 
him,  and  the  guillotine  in  action  before  his  face,  had  the  boldness  to 
cry  out,  in  the  hearing  of  the  Jacobinical  butchers,  to  the  illustrious 
victim,  "  Fils  de  est  Louis  montea  au  del ;"  and  a  namesake  of  my  own 
corri'sd  the  consolations  of  our  holy  religion  to  the  unhappy  Marie  An- 
toinette, in  spite  of  the  bloodthirstiness  of  the  guards  and  the  vigilance 
of  her  JMlers.  At  home  wo  lost  our  all  except  our  holy  faith,  by  our 
loyal  adhesion  to  the  unfortunate  and  ungrateful  Stuarts.  It  is  a  fact 
Sir,  that  cannot  be  controverted,  that  the  good  Ever  McMahon,  Bishop 
of  Clogher,  was  fighting  to  the  death  for  a  Charles  I.,  at  the  head  of 
the  Ulster  Catholics,  near  Ennisldllen,  at  the  very  time  that  the  same 
Charles  was  signing  the  Scotch  covenant  to  exterminate  the  Catholic 
name  1  Shall  we,  then.  Sir,  who  have  been  faithful  to  our  royal  ene- 
ndes,  prove  faithless  to  a  royal  friend  ?"  &c.,  &o. 


ir^ 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


69 


lengthy  reply  for  an  official  letter-writer,  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  the  petition,  but  explained  his  unwilling- 
ness to  present  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  contained  advice 
"  which  no  minister,  even  if  favorable  to  the  repeal  of 
the  Union,  could  give  a  constitutional  sovereign."  In 
explanation,  Mr.  Maginn  assured  his  lordship  thuc  the 
petitioners,  in  using  that  special  form  of  words,  strictly 
meant  "  to  pray  her  Majesty  to  have  the  Union  repealed 
in  that  way  only,  which  the  laws  and  constitution  sanc- 
tioned." He  then  proposed,  on  behalf  of  the  Commit- 
tee, to  modify  the  address  so  as  clearly  to  express  that 
intention.  Thus  modified,  we  believe,  it  was  finally  pre- 
sented by  the  Marquis  of  Normanby.  This  theory  of 
the  royal  prerogative,  it  may  be  necessary  to  add,  seems 
to  have  been  seriously  held  by  O'Oonnell  and  other  Irish 
patriots ;  but  it  was  never,  so  far  as  the  present  writer 
knows,  elaborated  with  sufiioient  reseaich  to  attract  the 
attention  of  constitutional  writeri?.* 

Mr.  Maginn's  reliance  in  C'Oonnell's  wisdom,  disinter- 
estedness, and  resources,  was  implicit  and  complete.  His 
admiration  for  that  illustrious  man  inspires  his  most  pri- 
vate correspondence.  He  was  none  of  those  insincere 
adherents — too  commonly  found  in  the  train  of  great 
men — who  criticise  and  condemn  in  private,  what  pub- 
licly they  applaud  and  eulogize.    In  1844,  writing  to  a 

*  The  letter  of  the  Marquis,  as  a  document  of  those  times,  is  given 
in  the  Appendix  from  his  autograph. 


1   Ml::! 


70 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


near  relative  in  Kew  York,  he  thus  expounds  O'Con- 
nell's  policy,  at  home,  towards  England,  and  the  United 
States: 

"You  will  of  course  expect  that  I  would  say  something  on  the  po- 
litical aspect  of  our  country.  Our  prospects  are  much  better  than 
they  have  been.  The  agitation  for  Repeal  has  forced  the  Minister  into 
measures  of  conciliation.  The  policy  of  England  is  not  now  to  coerce 
by  brute  force,  but  to  endeavor  to  seduce  us  from  the  love  of  indepen- 
dence by  smiles  and  favors.  You  have  heard  of  the  Maynooth  grant, 
and  of  the  excellent  manner  in  which  it  was  made.  The  manner  was 
as  important  as  the  matter.  It  was  gracious  and  conciliatory.  The 
Bequest  Bill  and  the  New  Academies  Act  have  been  proflFered  as 
boons.  In  both  there  is  much  good,  and  perhaps  as  much  evil.  The 
country,  and  especially  our  hierarchy,  are  unfortunately  divided  on 
these  subjects.  The  great  majority  of  the  people  and  clergy  are 
against  them,  a  few  for  them,  but  not  of  'hat  clas^  in  whom  the  patri- 
otic portion  of  the  people  have  confidence,  "j  iie  general  belief  is  that 
they  were  intended,  notwithstanding  their  plausibility,  as  apples  of 
discord,  to  divide  the  strength,  and  waste  by  battles  the  energies  of 
the  great  Irish  party.  My  own  opinion  on  this  subject  is,  in 'unison 
with  Mr.  O'Connells,  that  they  are  '  dead  sea  fruits,  to  tempt  the  eye 
and  turn  to  ashes  on  the  lips.'  At  any  rate,  England  and  England's 
Minister,  thanks  to  Repeal  Agitation,  are  no  longer  tho  rattlesnalces 
of  old,  carrying  with  them,  in  their  noisy  and  deadly  track,  lenor  and 
dismay.  They  may  be,  however,  not  less  dangerous  in  their  pretended 
friendship  than  in  their  open  and  outrageous  hostility.  The  venom 
of  the  asp  is  not  less  subtle  or  deadly,  though  its  approach  be  noise- 
less and  its  sting  be  wreathed  in  flowers.  It  was  quite  natural  for  you 
to  feel  hurt,  as  an  American  citizen,  at  the  repeated  attacks  of  Mr. 
O'Connell  on  your  adopted  country.  His  language,  I  am  convinced, 
must  have  been  prejudicial  to  the  Irish  exiles,  and  capable  of  strongly 
exciting  the  native  American  population  against  them.  Many  in  Ire- 
land blamed  him  much,  and  considerer*  his  language  rash,  wanton  and 
ill-timed.  I  am  sure  no  American  citizen  could  have  felt  morp  strongly 
on  that  subiect  than  numbers  of  the  Irish  people  The  Young  Ireland 
Party  did  not  hesitate  to  express  their  dissatinfaction  in  language 
warm  and  vigorous.    My  own  opinion  is,  that  there  yvm  very  little  hu- 


^m.: 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


71 


man  policy  in  Mr.  O'Connell's  intermeddling  wiih  a  queetion  so  com- 
plicated as  tlie  slave  question  must  be,  in  consequence  of  its  long  con- 
tinuance in  many  of  the  states  of  the  Union.  There  may  be,  however, 
a  plea  of  justification  put  forward  for  Mr.  O'Conaell,  which,  to  the  re- 
flecting Christian  mind,  would  be  deemed  satisf;^ctory.  I  don't  think 
that  Mr.  O'Connell,  at  his  time  of  life,  is  much  influenced  by  what  we 
would  call  worldly  wisdom.  His  views  may  be,  and  I  think  are,  of  a 
more  sublimated  nature — more  Christian,  and  more  in  accordance  with 
his  supposed  mission.  He  considers  himself  the  chosen  apostle  of  lib- 
erty, and  that  he  would  be  deviating  from  his  high  and  holy  vocation 
were  he  to  sanction,  by  word  or  deed,  slavery  in  any  shape  or  in  any 
country.  He  considers  the  condition  of  the  negro  a  disgrace  to  your 
Republic ;  and  being  solicitous  that  the  great  experiment  which  man  it 
making  in  the  way  of  self-government  in  the  new  world,  should  not  suffer 
in  the  eyes  of  the  despots  of  the  old  world  by  that  foul,  dark  spot  on 
its  otherwise  glorious  escutcheon,  he  should  like  to  see,  as  we  would 
all  like  to  see,  the  proud  American  eagle — the  noblest  bird  of  the 
feathered  tribes-pursuing  its  exalted,  onward  course  on  its  full-spread 
pinions,  with  steady  gaze  on  the  brilliant  sun  of  its  destiny,  without 
being  obliged  to  droop  its  wing  in  shame,  or  with  downcast  look  to 
meaner  earth,  show  that  it  still  retained  something  in  common  with 
the  grosser  birds — the  harpy  brood — ^whose  lusts  are  fleshy,  who  prey 
on  filth,  and  riot  in  the  ruin  of  their  making.  Hers  should  be  the 
duty  to  teach  the  young  eaglets  of  the  earth,  as  they  burst  the  shell 
of  their  thraldom,  to  fly  upwards  and  onwards,  and  preserve  their 
steady,  undeviating  course  towards  the  orb  of  freedom,  and  not  to  in- 
duce them,  by  bad  example,  to  shrink  back  again  to  the  shells  from 
which  they  had  been  invited  by  the  proud  daring  of  Franklin's  bird  of 
freedom.  She  should  not  forget  the  sublime  maxim  of  her  illustrious 
parent,  "  De  ccelo  eripuit  fuhnen,  septrumque  ti/rannis.^^  Mr.  O'Con- 
nell, being  anxious  that  the  ends  of  Providence  should  be  thus  fully 
and  fairly  carried  out ;  that  the  new  world  which  God  provided  for 
man  as  a  refuge  from  the  bondage  of  the  old — as  a  land  of  promise 
where  freedom's  ark  would  securely  and  forever  rest — should  not  pre- 
sent to  the  eye  of  ihe  European  despot  God's  free  and  rational  crea- 
tures, even  there  in  a  state  of  bondage — the  free  republican,  the  refugee 
from  slavery,  turned  the  oppressor  and  taskmaster  of  his  fellow-crea- 
tures in  that  chartered  soil  of  liberty.  To  achieve  the  objects  which 
Mr.  O'Connell  has  in  view,  his  reliance  is  on  God,  and  only  on  man 


i^ 


^i  i 


72 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  BDWARD  MAGINN. 


irhen  his  c(H)peration  is  In  accordance  with  God's  ordinances.  He  be- 
lieyes  that  he  has  a  mission  from  the  Divinity  to  redeem  bds  country, 
and  that  he  will  be  sucoessftil,  eyen  if  the  world  were  against  him. 
The  slightest  deviation  from  the  path  of  Christian  rectitude  would,  he 
believes,  compromise  his  ndssion  and  make  it  abortive.  He  therefore 
denounces  slavery  wherever  he  Icnows  it  to  exist,  and  unsparingly 
lashes  the  tyrant  wherever  he  finds  him,  maldng  no  distinction  between 
the  crovmed  Bear  of  Russia  and  the  crovmlest  Bear  of  Kentucky,  My 
own  opinion  is,  that  the  Czar  of  Russia,  whom  he  hates  with  a  perfect 
hatred,  is  still  less  odious  in  his  eyes  than  the  American  slaveholder, 
as  the  one  acts  from  principle,  and  the  other  against  it— the  one  being 
a  despot  among  tyrants  and  slaves,  by  birth,  breeding  and  custom,  the 
other  a  slaver  from  avarice  among  professed  freemen,  where  every  sn.> 
rounding  institution  proclaims  liberty  as  the  natural  and  inalienable 
birthright  of  every  child  of  Adam.  Not  to  raise  his  voice,  then, 
agidnst  such  a  prostitution  of  the  name  of  freedom,  would  be  deemed 
by  Mr.  O'Connell  a  betrayal  of  liis  trust,  and  sufScient  to  provoke  the 
vengeance  of  heaven  against  the  sacred  cause  of  his  country.  More- 
over, Mr.  O'Connell  knows  from  experience  that  Ireland  hitherto  relied 
too  much  on  foreign  aid.  He  knows  that  nations  are  seljishy  and  seldom 
proffer  the  hand  of  friendship  mthout  a  selfish  motive.  France  and 
Spain  were  relied  on  by  Ireland,  when  Ireland  should  have  relied  on  her- 
self. She  failed  with  the  selfish,  dmhtful  and  hesitating  aid  they  af- 
forded her.  Mr.  O'Connell  firmly  hopes  that  with  Irish  hearts,  Irish 
exertions,  and  Providence  as  his  protector  and  guide,  he  shall  actdeve, 
by  purely  Christian  means,  Ireland's  independence,  and  he,  for  this  rea- 
son, declines  or  does  not  seek  any  assistance  not  proceeding  from  the  /lon- 
est,  the  upright,  "ni  the  virtuous,  who  love  freedom  for  its  own  sake, 
and  sympathise  with  Ireland  because  her  cause  is  just.  The  Repeal 
movement  is  gc  n*  on  calmly  and  triumphantly.  There  are  new  and 
important  access)  ons  to  it  every  f'ry.  There  is  less  noise  and  more 
dignity.  The  p  rople  are  as  resolved  as  ever,  but  not  impatient.  They 
bide  their  time  and  God's  leisure,  assured  that  Ireland's  day  of  pros- 
perity must  come  in  England's  hour  of  adversity,  and  what  John  Bull 
now  holds  with  a  iiger^s  tenacity,  he  shall  then  yield' with  the  meekness 
of  a  lamb.  .Ss  Christians  bound  by  the  tie  of  allegiance  to  the  Crown, 
Mr,  O^Connell  and  the  Catholic  clergy  could  not  conscientiously  seek  a 
separation  from  it.  Beyond  a  domestic  and  independent  legislature  they 
could  not  go.    This  is  another  reason  why  Mr.  O'Connell  is  so  regai'd- 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


78 


less  of  the  sympathies  of  other  nations,  who  would  not  hesitate  to  urg« 
the  over-ardent  and  the  less  scrupulous  beyond  tlie  path  of  duty. 

The  same  year,  during  O'Connell'a  imprisonment,  he 
wrote  to  his  sister,  a  resident  of  Montreal : 

"  I  have  said  so  much  of  your  friends,  that  I  have  scarcely  left  my- 
self space  in  order  to  say  a  word  about  poor  Ireland,  and  Ireland's 
immortal  Liberator,  Daniel  O'Connell.  Ho  is  now,  as  you  already 
know,  immured  in  a  prison  for  his  patriotism,  while  his  indignant  coun- 
trymen are  forced  to  look  on,  as  if  they  were  apathetic  or  indifferent 
to  his  fate.  They  have  now,  thank  God,  much  prudence  and  political 
wisdom ;  they  will  not  risk  Ireland's  future  freedom,  happiness  and 
prosperity  by  any  rash  or  fruitless  struggle  for  the  present.  They  bide 
their  time,  leave  vengeance  to  the  God  of  justice,  and  calmly  yet  con- 
fidently await  the  day  when  He,  in  his  goodness,  will  enable  them 
safely  and  securely  to  claim  their  rights,  or,  if  you  please,  assert  them. 
Mr.  O'Oonnell  is  the  apostle  of  peaceful  regeneration ;  he  is  anxious 
to  set  an  example  to  the  nations  of  the  earth  that  war  is  no  longer  ne- 
cessary to  achieve  the  liberties  of  mankind.  He  has  been  hitherto 
successful,  and  will  yet,  we  fondly  and  firmly  hope,  live  to  see  this  par 
triotic  and  Christian  problem  solved,  in  the  perfect  redemption  and 
regeneration  of  his  native  country.  He  is  now,  to  be  sure,  in  prison, 
suffering  in  the  cause  for  which  others  bled  he  is  not,  however,  the 
less  powerftil  by  being  in  chains.  Dan  in  the  lion's  den  or  fiery  fur- 
nace is  still  more  terrible  to  Ireland's  enemies,  than  he  has  been  on  the 
heights  of  Tara-hill  or  Mullaghmast.  The  rent  goes  on  accumulating 
since  his  imprisonment,  until  it  has  reached  last  week  £3,400.  The 
ministry  that  imprisoned  him  is  tottering  to  its  fall.  All  the  political 
parties  appear  to  be  in  confusion.  The  Lord  appears  to  have  con- 
founded them  and  reduced  them  to  a  chaos,  before  he  makes  the  light 
of  freedom  break  upon  our  country.  They  seem  to  be  blinded  and 
running  headlong  to  their  ruin,  like  the  tyrants  of  Egypt  before  the 
deliverance  of  the  Isrti  jlites  from  their  bondage.  Never  were  the  Irish 
people  in  better  hones,  nor  more  dismay  among  their  political  op- 
posers." 

In  1845,  the  parish  clergy  of  Derry,  according  to  a 
time-honored  and  ennobling  custom  in  the  Irish  Church, 


m. 


74 


LITE  OF  RIGHT  RKV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


had  presented  three  names  to  Borne  as  candidates  for 
Coadjutor  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  The  incumbent,  Dr. 
McLoughlin,  being  afflicted  with  a  serious  mental  ail- 
ment, the  whole  administration  would  naturally  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Coadjutor.  For  this  great  trust,  Mr. 
Maginn  was  almost  unanimously  named  Dignissimus. 
Writing  to  an  old  friend  and  schoolfellow,  in  August  of 
that  year,  he  deprecates  (and  who  can  doubt  with  what 
sincerity  ?)  this  new  dignity : 

"  I  hare  hitherto  passed  over  your  verj  kind  congratalations,  bear- 
ing on  a  recent  nomination.  The  reason  is,  I  did  not  consider  that  I 
had  any  occasion  to  congratulate  myself  on  that  event.  It  came  upon 
me  by  surprise,  and  completely  unnerved  me.  I  would  have  much 
preferred  to  remain  with  my  good,  kind  flock,  to  any  dignity  which 
the  Church  could  offer,  and  it  would  have  served  me  better  to  have 
taken  down  a  pair  of  long  beads,  which  have  been  enjoying,  through 
the  bustle  and  aunoyance  of  a  laborious  mission,  their  otium  cum  dig- 
niiate  for  the  last  twenty  years,  and  to  have  busied  myself  with  them 
for  the  time  to  come,  thaa  to  grasp  with  an  enfeebled  hand  a  crozier, 
or  to  have  my  already  too  much  belabored  brains  encumbered  with 
that  uneasy  kind  of  head-dr(>':ei,  called  a  sxltre.  Whatever  view,  how- 
ever, Providence  may  have  with  respect  to  us,  it  is  our  duty  to  sub- 
mit, and  under  all  circumstances  to  do  our  best ;  no  more  will  be  ex- 
pected from  us  than  that  little." 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  the  Bulls  arrived  for 
his  consecration  as  Bishop  of  Orthosia  *  and  Adminis- 
trator of  Derry ;  and  the  ceremony  was  fixed  to  take 
place  early  in  January.     Congratulations  poured  in  upon 

*  Orthosia,  a  seaport  of  Syria,  thirty  miles  north  of  Tripoli,  was  a 
famous  Christian  fortress  in  the  Middle  Ages.  It  is  supposed  to  be 
identical  with  the  modern  Tortosa. 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


75 


the  Bishop-elect  from  every  part  of  the  kingdom.  Br. 
Caiitwell,  Bishop  of  the  royal  Diocese  of  Meath,-  ad- 
dressing him  from  Dublin,  on  the  15th  of  Dccer^ber, 
wrote :  "  Now  that  the  Bulls  for  your  consecration  have 
arrived,  permit  me  to  congratulate  not  yourself,  but  the 
Diocese  of  Derry  and  the  Irish  Church,  on  your  eleva- 
tion to  the  Episcopal  dignity.  A  mitre  seldom  adds  to 
earthly  comfort  or  happiness.  Its  thorns  will,  I  hope, 
become  gems  in  your  eternal  crown." 

The  Primate,  Most  Kev.  Dr.  Crolly,  though  not  so 
thoroughly  national  as  Dr.  Maginn,  cheerfully  consented 
to  assist  at  his  consecration,  while  Dr.  MacHale,  Arch- 
bishop of  Tuam,  the  most  constant  patriot  among  the 
Prelacy,  added  his  congratulations  at  the  first  opportu- 
nity. Dr.  O'Higgins,  Bishop  of  Ardagh,  his  old  Profes- 
sor in  the  Irish  College  at  Paris,  was  not  in  the  country 
at  the  time  the  ceremony  took  place,  but  in  April  fol- 
lowing, on  his  return  home,  he  addressed  him  a  very 
hearty  letter,  explaining  the  cause  of  his  absence  from 
the  consecration : 

"Owing  to  my  absence  from  this  diocese  for  a  considerable  time," 
he  wrote,  "  it  is  only  now  that  your  lordship's  esteemed  letter  of  the 
2d  January  reaches  me.  Be  plea^^ed  to  accept  my  warmest  thanks  for 
the  valued  invitation  which  that  letter  conveys,  and  believe  me,  there 
is  no  Irishman  in  or  out  of  the  Episcopacy  who  rejoices  more  than  I 
do  at  your  lordship's  elevation. 

"  I  am  far  from  congratulating  yourself  on  your  appointment,  for 
your  cares  will  be  augmented  and  your  worldly  happiness  diminished, 
but  I  do  sincerely  congratulate  the  body  to  which  you  now  belong,  on 
receiving,  in  these  trying  times,  so  valuable  an  accession." 


it 


v* 


!<*fifiie>i«|!','' 


'W^ 


76 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAQINN. 


The  consecration  took  place  on  tho  1  Sth  of  January, 
1846,  in  the  cathedral,  at  Waterside.  The  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  Crolly,  the  Primate,  officiated,  assisted  by  the  Bish- 
ops of  Meath  and  Clogher.  The  Bishop  of  Down  and 
Connor,  Dr.  Denvir,  was  also  present.  Rev.  Philip 
Devlin  read  the  BuP- ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Murray,  the  very 
distinguished  Professor  of  Maynooth,  preached  on  the 
occasion,  from  Matthew  xvi.  In  the  evening,  according 
to  hospitable  custom,  the  new  Bishop  entertained  the 
Prelates  and  clergy  at  dinner,  when  the  honors  of  the 
table  were  rendered  by  host  and  guests  to  "  His  Holi- 
ness the  Pope,"  "the  Queen,"  "Daniel  O'Connell," 
"  His  Grace  the  Primate,"  and  the  Rev.  Preacher.  The 
Primate  proposed  "  the  new  Bishop,"  and  then  the  or- 
dinary sentiments  on  sujh  occasions  were  offered  and 
honored.  * 

To  the  people  of  his  native  province,  and  the  faithful 
of  the  diocese,  this  event  gave  the  greatest  satisfaction. 
The  inhabitarts  of  Derry,  the  Waterside,  Moville,  Fa- 
han,  Buncrana,  Maghera,  Cloughcorr,  Carndonagh, 
Malin,  Clonmany,  Coleraine,  Faughanvalle,  Omagh, 
Strabane  and  Cappagh,  contributed  a  purse  of  £200,  to 
present  him  with  a  testimonial  of  their  regard  and  grat- 
ification. Among  the  contributors  were  the  best  and 
most  patriotic  of  Innishowen,  as  well  as  the  principal 
Catholic  traders  of  the  towns.  But  what  must  have 
*  Batteroby'g  Catholic  Directory,  for  1847 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


77 


gratified  the  new  Bishop  more  than  all  the  rest,  was  the 
cordial  co-operation  in  this  testimonial  of  the  Rev. 
erend  Messrs.  McLecr,  McCarron,  Quinn,  O'Kane  and 
O'Loughlin,  his  associates  in  "  the  Derry  Discussion  "  of 
1828.  The  presents — a  cari'^_,_  and  jaunting  car — 
were  presented  in  the  school  n  ^  f*  St.  Columba's,  on 
the  Friday  following  the  con^i  u    Wm.  McLough- 

lin,  M.  D.,  the  Secretary,  in  the  presentation  address, 
referred,  in  these  terms,  to  the  personal  merits  of  the 
distinguished  recipient.     lie  said : 

"  The  united  parishes  ha  is  about  to  leave — and  I  may  add  the  dio- 
cese at  large — can  bear  ample  and  houortible  tcbtimony  to  his  enthu- 
siastic and  persevering  exertions  in  diffusing  among  his  people  the 
advantages  of  a  good  and  moral  education,  He  has  succeeded  in 
erecting  in  his  own  parish,  at  great  inconvenience,  anxiety  of  mind, 
and  considerable  personal  expense,  fourteen  of  the  largest  and  most 
splendid  schools  to  be  seen  in  any  district  in  Ireland,  the  average  daily 
attendance  at  which  is  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  hundred  children. 
The  answering  and  general  proficiency  of  these  children  in  all  the  or- 
dinary branches  of  education,  and  even  in  some  of  the  most  abstruse 
sciences,  has  been  the  subject  of  admiration  as  well  as  delight  to  every 
one  who  has  had  the  felicity  of  witnessing  their  public  examinations. 
In  addition  to  this,  he  has  built  a  magnificent  chapel  .n  Fahan,  and 
begged  throughout  the  three  kingdoms  to  realize  the  means  by  which 
he  accomplished  that  noble  and  praiseworthy  undertaking.  He  had 
also  purchased  ground  in  the  neighborhood  of  Buncrana,  and  was 
about  to  proceed  with  the  erection  of  a  second  house  of  worship 
(which  is  now  rapidly  progressing)  at  the  time  he  was  elected  by  his 
brother  clergymen  to  fill  the  important  and  responsible  office  of  bishop 
of  this  diocese — and  elected,  too,  with  a  unanimity,  I  believe,  quite 
unprecedented  in  the  history  of  episcopal  elections — conduct  that  was 
creditable  alike  to  the  judgment  and  discrimination  of  the  independent 
clergy  of  the  diocese,  as  it  must  have  been  highly  gratifying  to  the 
feelings  of  the  distinguished  individual  himself  whom  they  so  cordially 

9 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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11.25 


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Sdencjes 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WIBSTiR,N.Y.  MSM 

(716)  •73-4303 


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78 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


and  unanimonsly  supported.  These  are  only  a  few  among  the  many 
services  he  has  rendered  religion  and  edacation  in  his  own  immediate 
locality  ;  hut  when  we  come  to  view  his  character  as  a  public  man, 
what  do  we  find  1  "Vie  have  seen  him,  in  every  instance,  identifying 
himself  with  the  people  in  all  their  struggles  for  civil  and  religious 
liberty — invariably  standing  by  the  side  of  the  oppressed  against  the 
oppressor,  and  using  his  gigantic  exertions  to  elevate  the  moral  char* 
acter,  and  ameliorate  tlie  wretched  and  impoverished  condition  of  his 
fellow-countrymen.  Although  he  never  acted  the  part  of  the  syco- 
phant, nor  courted  the  smiles  of  the  magnates  of  the  land,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  asserted  his  principles  fearlessly  and  without  compromise  ; 
still,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  there  never  was  a  man  more 
universally  esteemed  by  his  dissenting  brethren  in  his  own  neighbor- 
hood. They  have  always  lived  together  on  the  most  friendly  and  inti- 
mate terms ;  and,  although  differing  widely  from  him,  and  no  4oubt 
sincerely  and  conscientiously,  at  the  same  time  they  admire,  and  give 
him  credit  for  his  candor  and  independence.  The  majority  of  you, 
gentlemen,  remember  well  the  celebrated  discussion  that  was  held  in 
this  city  in  the  year  '28.  Ton  know  the  origin  of  that  discussion — 
you  are  well  aware  that  the  country,  at  that  time,  was  overrun  with 
persons  deputed  to  revile,  blacken  and  calumniate  your  country  and 
religion,  and  that  a  deputation  had  actually  arrived  here  with  the  view 
of  establishing  a  branch  of  their  society.  Who,  I  ask  you,  was  among 
the  foremost  on  that  occasion,  to  come  forward  and  oppose  these  itin- 
erant fomenters  of  sectarian  animosity  1  It  was  no  other  than  the 
man  whom  yoa  have  met  to  honor  this  day  ;  and,  when  provoked 
into  that  discussion,  he  took  hie  stand  manfully  (with  the  rest  of  his 
brother  clergymen),  and  never  will  the  people  of  Derry  forget  the 
learning,  the  research,  the  tact,  the  talent,  the  powerful  and  matchless 
eloquence  he  displayed  in  that  memorable  debate.  He  did  not  rest 
satisfied,  either,  with  the  celebrity  and  popularity  he  so  justly  earned 
on  that  occasion,  and  retire  from  the  world  to  enjoy  the  otium  cum  dig- 
nitate ;  no,  Sir,  onward  was  still  his  motto.  No  student  has  ever  read 
with  greater  enthusiasm  and  assiduity  than  he  has  done  since  that  pe- 
riod. You  will  be  always  sure  to  find  him,  several  hours  each  day, 
occupied  in  that  mngniffioent  library  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  uncle, 
the  lamented  and  illustrious  Doctor  Slevin,  formerly  professor  in  the 
college  of  Maynooth,  and  the  result,  gentlemen,  is  as  it  should  be — 
learning  and  virtue  and  piety  have  received  their  reward ;  and  vou 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  HAGINN. 


79 


have  nov  placed  over  you  one  of  the  most  enlightened  and  exemplary 
men  in  the  Oatholic  Church,  an  honor  to  your  diocese  and  an  orna* 
ment  to  the  hierarchy  of  Ireland." 

In  his  reply,  the  patriot  Bishop  spoke,  among  other 
things,  these : 

"  I  barely  did  my  duty.  He  could  not  claim  the  character  of  the 
minister  of  Christ,  who  did  not  preach  charity  to  all  made  in  the  image 
of  God  the  Father,  and  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  his  Son,  Christ.  He 
would  not  be  the  minister  of  him  who  was  given  as  a  '  light  for  the  rey- 
elation  of  the  Gentiles'  and  the  *  glory  of  the  people  of  Israel,'  who 
would  not  have  recourse  to  all  the  means  in  his  power  to  endeavor  to 
enlighten  the  youth  entrusted  to  his  spiritual  care.  Ireland  was  de* 
prived  of  knowledge  that  she  might  be  made  a  slave.  Instruction 
was  made  penal,  that  her  faith  might  be  filched  from  her  in  her  igno- 
rance. The  duty  of  the  Catholic  priesthood,  who  can  approve  only 
of  moral  means  to  redeem  their  country,  is  to  make  her  free  by  know- 
ledge, and  encircle  her  ancient  faith  with  those  lights  without  which 
half  its  beauties  become  invisible.  The  groundwork,  I  fondly  hope, 
has  been  laid  not  only  in  the  narrow  sphere  of  my  weak  action,  but 
elsewhere  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Ireland,  for  a  new 
people  who  will  know  their  rights,  and  as  men  and  Christians  enforce 
them — ^know  their  social  duties  and  practice  them  ;  who  will  know 
their  religion,  and  be  able,  with  reason's  arms,  to  defend  it  I  Mill  al- 
ways consider  it  a  sacred  duty  to  co-operate  everywhere  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  knowledge,  but  of  knowledge  under  the  guidance  of  re- 
ligion, which  shall  tend  not  only  to  enlighten  the  mind,  but  to  form 
the  heart  to  virtue.  To  my  humble  advocacy  oi'  the  perfection  of  tem- 
perance, it  would  be  uncandid  in  me  not  to  say  that  I  look  back  with 
some  pleasure,  as  I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  good  results 
to  society,  as  well  as  to  individuals ;  and,  to  the  credit  of  oar  people 
be  it  spoken,  that  of  the  many  thoasands  who,  in  my  presence,  pledged 
their  faith  to  total  abstinence,  I  have  not  known  more  than  six  or 
eight,  at  most,  who  proved  faithless  to  their  engagements.  The  same 
holy  and  sacred  principle  which  made  their  fathers  renounce  titles, 
dignities,  honors,  wealth,  their  estates,  liberties,  and  even  life  itself, 
sooner  than  take  an  oath  which  conscience  did  not  approve,  makes,  in 
apiie  of  inveterate  habits,  and  that  weakness  and  ficklensss  for  which 


■'m 


80 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINK. 


mankind  are  so  remarkable,  their  simple  word  of  promise  inviolable. 
For  snoh  a  people  God  has  surely  in  store  a  glorioas  destiny !  You 
were  kind  enough  to  say  that  I  was  only  stern  when  defending  the 
poor  against  oppression.  Believing  the  poor  to  be  the  '  treasures  of 
God's  Church,'  I  must  have  proved  false  to  my  vocation,  had  I  stood 
on  the  side  of  the  •powerful  against  the  weak,  or  of  the  oppressor 
against  the  oppressed.  The  rica  seldom  want  advocates — the  poor  of- 
ten. My  sympathies,  I  own,  have  been  always  with  the  poor  and 
lowly.  In  this  I  have  had  a  bright  example  in  His  eonduct,  who  re- 
fused to  go  to  the  mlei's  daughter,  and  went  with  all  alacrity  to  the  cen- 
turion's servant.  I  am  Inppy  to  be  able  to  record  that  my  defence  of 
the  supposed  rights  of  the  poor  has  not  hitherto  lost  me  a  friend,  or 
made  me  a  single  enemy ;  even  those  to  whom,  for  the  poor's  sake,  I 
was  in  a  few  instances  opposed,  on  a  proper  understanding  of  my  mo- 
tives, are  now  amongst  my  warmest  friends.  You  complimented  me 
on  my  patriotism  If  it  be  a  virtue,  I  confess  I  felt  and  feel  its  influ- 
ence. If  it  be  a  crime  to  prefer  Ireland,  her  honor  and  happiness,  to 
that  of  any  other  country  on  earth,  I  plead  guilty  to  that  soft  im- 
peachment. I  in  all  sincerity  pity  the  Irishman,  bred  and  bom  in 
Ireland,  who  could  love  with  equal  fervor  any  other  land  on  earth. 
Ireland  is  our  second  mother ;  her  soil  is  sacred  for  us ;  her  honor, 
her  glory,  her  independence  should,  after  God  and  his  holy  faith,  en- 
list all  our  sympathies,  excite  our  warmest  affections,  and,  to  promote 
them,  concentrate  all  our  CDergies.  Difference  in  religious  belief  should 
not  make  us  forget  the  duty  of  loving  our  common  country,  which 
not  to  love  would  be  as  unnatural  as  it  would  be  monstrously  singular. 

"  If  I  forget  thee,  Jemsalem,  let  my  right  haiid  be  forgotten. 
Let  my  tougae  cleave  to  my  Jaws  if  I  do  not  remember  thee ; 
If  I  make  not  Jemsalem  the  beginnlnr  '         J07. 
Bemember,  Lord,  the  children  of  Eda*  (  3  day  of  Jenualom. 

Who  say,  raze  it,  raze  it,  even  to  the  foonoittion  thereot 
Oh  I  daughter  of  Babylon  miserable;  blessed  shall  he  be 
Who  shall  repay  thee  the  payments  which  thou  hast  paid  ns.'* 

Such  was  the  song  attuned  to  a  sacred  lyre  by  the  man  after  God's 
own  heart.  If  such  holy  and  deep  devotion  to  country  pervaded  the 
breasts  of  all  Irishmen,  Ireland's  tale  of  misery  would  only  appear  on 
the  page  of  history,  and  her  career  of  national  independence  and  hap- 
piness would  date  from  that  blissful  hour.  The  nature  of  your  invalua- 
ble presents,  coupled  with  your  too  flattering  and  complimentary  ad- 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  HAOINN. 


81 


dreas,  shall,  I  trust,  plead  my  apology  for  this  lengthened  and  tedious 
expression  of  my  feelings  regarding  both.  Muoh  as  I  esteem  your  gift* 
and  good  opinion  of  me,  I  esteem  your  prayers  to  the  throne  of  meroy 
for  me  more.  I  cherish  the  hope  that  you,  on  your  part,  will  be  un- 
ceasing in  your  orisons  to  the  Gi-rcr  of  all  good  gifts,  that  I  may  know 
and  efficiently  discharge  all  the  duties  I  owe  to  a  clergy  so  r  ious,  and 
a  people  so  generous  and  devoted.  It  wUl  be  my  highf-.^t  ambition 
and  not  less  my  duty,  aided,  as  I  trust  in  God'a  goodness  to  be  by  his 
grace,  to  devote  myself  and  all  my  energies  to  your  service  and  that 
of  our  holy  religion,  making  up  by  single-mindedness  and  untiring 
seal  what  I  want  in  ability.  My  earnest  and  constant  prayers  will  be 
to  God,  that  he  may,  from  the  treasures  of  his  mercy,  recompense 
your  pious  liberality ;  and  as  you  have  neared  for  me  the  distances  and 
made  my  labors  lightsome,  that  he  may  near  to  you  his  meroy,  and 
'  enrich  you  in  all  utterance  and  in  all  knowledge,  as  the  testimony  of 
Christ  is  confirmed  in  you,  so  that  nothing  be  wanting  to  you  in  any 
grace,  waiting  for  the  manifestation  of  our  Lord  Jeeus  Christ,'  (St. 
Paul  to  Cor.,  1st  chap.),  so  that  we  may  all  one  day  come  to  embrace 
each  other  in  holy  charity  in  heaven,  and  recognize  each  other  as  the 
lovers  of  the  same  amiable  Lord,  met  there  to  be  inseparable  compan- 
ions in  the  love  o^  our  Saviour  Jesus,  face  to  face,  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen. 


Sucli  were  the  sentiments  with  which,  in  one  of  the 
darkest  and  most  melancholy  days  of  Ireland's  fortune, 
the  new  Bishop  of  Derry  assumed  his  high  duties ;  and 
such  were  the  feelings  with  which  his  neighbors,  his  sub- 
jects, his  countrymen,  and  his  brethren  of  the  Hierarchy 
beheld  his  well-deserved  elevation. 

As  the  views  of  Dr.  Maginn  in  relation  to  the  unfor- 
tunate division  of  the  Irish  national  party,  in  1846,  have 
been  often  mistaken  and  sometimes  misrepresented,  it  is 
our  duty  to  give  those  views  here,  in  his  own  emphatic 
language.    In  December,   1846,  writing  to  the  Most 


82 


•LIFE  OF  BIOHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


*Eev.  Dr.  toghes,'of  New- York,  he  expresses* himself  in 

these-t6yms  of  the. Young  Ireland  party:  . 

-  "  We  have  now  a  Young  and  an  Old  Ireland ;  Yonng  Ireland  half 
orasy,  stratting  with  not  less  pompons  folly  than  disthigiUBbed  Smol- 
let's  Sir  Lanncelot  Greaves,  armed  capapie  with  a  msty  sword  and 
gun,  harnessed  with  steel  and  bristling  with  ftiry ;  talking  of  war  and 
revolutions,  of  deposing  leaders,  and  taking  the  whole  management  of 
our  concerns  into  their  prudent,  steady  hands.  Old  Ireland  sticks,  of 
course,  to  its  old  experienced  leader,  Mr.  O'Gonnell,  and  is  stupid 
enough  to  imagine  that  he  alone  is  capable  of  steering  the  vessel 
through  the  stormy  sea  and  against  the  adverse  winds  with  which  now, 
more  than  ever,  she  has  to  contend.  Mr.  O'Gonnell  is  too  piotu,  too 
Catholic  and  too  cauti<n*9  for  the  young  blood  of  Dublin.  Religion 
mast  be  divorced  from  Irish  politics,  and  heaven's  blessing  disre- 
garded, or  there  is  no  hope  for  Ireland." 

To  a  near  relative  in  the  same  city,  he  wrote,  under 

the  same  date : 

"  The  curse  of  Division  is  still  on  Ireland's  children.  Some  of  our 
yonng  men,  forgetting  the  savionr  of  their  country  and  blaspheming 
the  hands  that  struck  the  fetters  from  their  own  limbs  and  those  of 
their  parents,  would  wish  to  be  leaders,  whilst  they  should  still  be,  as 
every  man  of  sense  avows,  in  their  mammas'  leading-strings.  I  was 
sorry  to  find  from  your  letter  to  me,  that  you  feel  with  them  and  for 
them.  Your  distance  from  us  prevents  you  from  seeing  matters  as 
they  really  are.  The  ashes  and  smoke  which  the  Young  Irelander  in 
his  friry  occasions  are  seen  in  America,  whereas  the  impure  elements 
from  which  they  have  been  emitted  are  concealed  from  your  view. 
Pride,  petulance,  reckless  ambition  and  the  intoxication  of  a  little 
learning,  the  fruitful  parent  of  impiety  and  irrelig^on,  mixed  up  with  a 
little  enthusiasm  and  a  large  ingredient  of  treachery  for  filthy  lucre's 
sake,  are  the  component  parts,  the  friel  of  this  new  rabid  and  fiery  op- 
position. Mr.  O'Gonnell,  as  you  may  perceive,  has  lately  put  thein 
wholly  in  the  wicng,  and  put  you,  I  fondly  hope,  right  on  the  subject" 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1847,  in  forwarding  the 
annual  subscriptions  of  himself  and  several  of  his  clergy. 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWABD  MAOINN. 


88 


to  the  Bepeal  Association,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  John 
O'Connell,  of  which  the  following  is  the  principal 
passage: 

''  It  la  a  pity,  in  this  year  of  Ireland's  misery,  when  we  dioald  alto- 
gether hold  np  the  shield  of  hope  to  the  city  of  Hai,  when  the  whole 
people  of  Ireland  should  hare  only  one  heart  and  one  sonl,  pressing 
forward  in  serried  ranks  to  their  country's  rescue,  to  find  some  of  the 
young  blood  of  Ireland  desecrating  those  talents  with  which  Ood  in- 
vested them  for  the  benefit  of  their  race,  to  the  unhallowed  cause  of 
dissension,  thereby  wealcening  the  national  strength,  and  affording  a 
triumph  to  her  enemies,  by  exhibiting  to  them  what  has  always  been 
Ireland's  ruin — a  divided  people. 

"We  cherished  the  hope  that  the  sincere  and  earnest  among  them 
would  have  listened  to  your  Father's  counsels,  and  once  more  ranged 
themselves  with  him  under  his  peaceful  national  banner.  The  hope,  it 
seems,  was  vain ;  they  have  denounced  conciliation,  preferring  the 
fond  idolatry  of  their  youthful  visions  to  their  country's  good.  Among 
the  seceders,  I  believe  there  are  many  more  deluded  than  deluding, 
the  dupes  of  crafty  and  designing  men,  who  have  practiced  on  their 
generous  natures,  and  made  them  subserve  their  own  treacherous  or 
ambitious  purposes.  They  should  know  well  that  their  present  course 
may  produce  much  evil,  but  cannot  eventuate  in  any  good.  If  they 
conceived  that  they  could  substitute,  in  the  liffeotions  of  Irishmen,  an- 
other leader,  or  encircle  that  leader  with  the  confidence  of  the  Irish 
people,  they  grossly  deceived  themselves.  They  will  find  themselves, 
after  having  fully  made  the  experiment,  in  the  situation  of  other  sepa- 
ratists, who  warred  with  another  Liberator  in  almost  parallel  circum- 
stances—for between  the  ancient  and  modem  liberators  and  the  peo- 
ple liberated,  there  are  striking  features  of  resemblance — all  alone  hi 
their  glory,  their  rods  without  bud  or  blossom,  and  scathed  by  the 
burning  anathemas  of  an  iqjured  nation.  I  would.  Sir,  hate  my  race, 
and  curse  it  with  more  bitterness  than  a  David  did  an  Edom,  could  I 
think  it  capable  of  such  base  ingratitude  as  to  desert  your  venerable 
father  in  his  now  onward  course  to  his  crowning  triumph,  victorious, 
as  he  has  been  in  a  thousand  fights,  after  having  strangled  the  serpent 
of  bigotry  with  a  Titan's  strength,  and  forced  haughty  England  to  un- 
bar her  Senate  to  the  hated  Catholic  Celt— made  the  slave  the  lords  of 
our  cities  or  the  colleges,  ermined  judges  on  our  bench,  and  what  we 


84 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


prized  abOTe  all,  as  for  them  we  saffered  all,  made  our  altart  free. 
When  In  Dublin  lately,  I  saw  him  for  the  first  tim^' ;  I  touched  that 
hand  which  tore  to  pieces  the  penal  code ;  I  hung  on  that  rolce  which 
so  oft  thrilled  the  soul  of  Ireland,  sweeter,  softer  than  the  tones  of  a 
lute,  and  drank  with  avidity  the  words  dropping  from  his  lips,  gently 
as  the  flakes  of  descending  snow,  and  more  refreshing  than  the  dews 
of  a  summer's  night.  I  goeed  in  raptures  upon  that  countenance  mel- 
lowed with  age  and  religion ;  I  thought  of  that  big  heart  which  only 
beats  for  his  country's  good,  and  looked  on  the  whole  man  as  if,  as 
•uch,  formed  by  God  to  be  the  dux  popttli,  as  the  mountain  was  created 
t^  Him  to  break  the  rain-cloud,  and  convey  its  refreshing  waters  to 
the  valleys ;  and  I  shuddered  at  what  I  knew  to  be  a  sad  reality,  that 
his  fair  fame,  whiter,  purer  than  the  ermine's  fur,  was  attempted  to  be 
sullied  by  the  foul  aspersions  of  even  those  whom  he  pressed  to  his 
bosom,  taught  at  the  school  of  his  wisdom,  and  held  up  to  the' honor 
of  his  country  with  a  more  than  parental  solicitude.  Of  my  own  im- 
pressions delicacy  prevents  me  from  saying  more,  as  I  am  writing  to 
the  son  of  this  venerable  father ;  but  this  I  would  advise,  if  there  be 
any  Irishman  wickedly  forgetful  of  the  deep  debt  of  gratitude  he  owes 
him,  let  him  go  and  spend  a  few  moments  in  his  company,  and  if  he  be 
not  cured  of  his  infidelity  after  having  looked  upon  that  venerable 
oak  which  bore  the  brunt  of  the  warring  elements  for  nearly  half  a 
century  tor  his  sake,  with  all  his  well-earned  honors  upon  him,  I  wou7d 
say  that  he  is  incurable,  and  unworthy  to  be  associated  with  suoh  a 
benefactor.  For  the  Young  Irelander,  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  youth 
about  him ;  impatient  of  the  wrongs  which  his  country  sufilers,  with 
feverish  dreams  of  glory  to  be  won  for  fatherland,  anxious  for  one 
bold  stroke  that  would  forever  prostrate  the  Saxon,  and  disenthral  his 
race ;  for  him  to  forget  his  parent's  order,  and  in  his  fiery  zeal,  like  a 
yonng  Manlins,  rush  from  the  ranks  of  his  prudent,  experienced  leader, 
because  he  moved  with  over-cautious  step  towards  the  same  goal ;  an 
excuse,  if  such  there  be  for  any,  might  be  found  for  him  in  his  way- 
ward course.  But  what  excuse  can  be  found  for  the  ungratefril  Levltes 
for  turning  away  from  this  modern  Moses,  by  whose  indomitable  energy 
the  fetters  were  struck  from  his  limbs,  his  creed,  temple  and  order 
emancipated  from  a  thraldom  worse  than  that  of  Pharaoh,  and  going 
over  to  the  house  of  some  Michas,  to  serve  him  and  his  silver  god,  and 
with  the  venom  of  asps  on  their  lips,  and  their  throat  a  gaping  sepul- 
chre, to  immolate,  at  this  new  idol's  shrine,  the  character  of  his  liber* 


LIFS  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAQINN. 


06 


aior.  Were  I  mire  that  snoh  were  aoeovnUble  beings,  with  the  ordi- 
nary feelingi  of  men,  having  the  power,  aa  they  liare  the  will,  to 
wound,  I  would  say  to  them,  in  sober  earnestness,  no  matter  at  whom 
yon  aim  yonr  battle-ax, 

*0h  t  woodmtn  ip«r«  that  tt—, 
Toaeh  not  •  single  bough ; 
In  yoatb  it  Btaeltored  the*, 
Thou  ■hooldst  protect  It  now. 
That  old  fkmiUsr  tree, 
Whoee  glory  end  renews 
Are  Ikmed  o*er  land  and  sea- 
Say  wouldat  thou  hack  it  down?' 

"  The  JasUce  of  yonr  fltther  would  not  be,  as  it  is,  Platonio,  if  it  had 
not  such  trials  to  encounter,  and  did  not  meet  with  ingratitude  erea 
at  the  hands  it  most  befriended.  But,  as  hitherto,  every  tongue  that 
speaks  against  him  shall  not  -protfet.  He  has  with  him  the  common 
sense  of  Ireland.  Belij^on  covers  him  with  her  sacred  mantle,  and 
those  who  love  that  daughter  of  heaven  more  dearly  than  life,  will 
never  permit  the  image  of  O'Connell  to  be  severed  from  hers  in  the 
sanctuary  of  their  hearts.'' 

It  is  apparent  from  his  letters  in  1848,  that  the  Bishop 
had  greatly  modified  his  views  of  the  personal  character 
and  qualities  of  the  principal  Young  Irelanders.  This 
also,  in  justice  to  his  memory,  we  shall  have  to  show  from 
under  his  own  hand.  But  it  ought  to  b&  jinown,  and 
will  now  be  put  beyond  dispute,  that  that  member  of  the 
Irish  Hierarchy,  supposed  to  be  constitutionally  of  most 
martial  character,  wholly  disapproved  from  the  outset, 
and  until  the  end  of  his  life  continued  to  disapprove,  the 
deplorable  "  secession"  of  1846.  For  the  seceedera  per- 
sonally, we  will  bye  and  bye  find  him  expressing  a  high 
personal  regard,  and  something  nearly  akin  to  admira- 
tion. As  for  their  principles,  their  policy,  their  political 
system,  none  of  the  documents  he  has  lefb  expresses  any 


86 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.   EDWABD  MAOINN. 


other  sentiment  than  regret,  or  pity,  or  condemnation. 
— A  few  words  in  this  place  on  the  energy  of  Dr.  Maginn's 
administration  of  Derry.  For  six  years  previously  the 
diocese  might  be  said,  in  consequence  of  Dr.  McLaughlin's 
affliction,  to  be  without  a  Bishop.  But  now  Mr.  Maginn 
was  no  sooner  appointed  than  new  life  was  poured  into 
every  Catholic  enterprise.  Six  new  churches  were  de- 
dicated, and  about  eleven  thousand  children  and  adults 
confirmed,  in  the  first  year  after  his  consecration.  So- 
cieties of  the  Living  Rosary,  Sunday-schools,  and  paro- 
chial circulating  libraries,  were  established  in  almost 
every  parish.  The  diocesan  collection  for  the  "  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith"  was  considerably  aug- 
mented. Simultaneously,  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and  the 
Christian  Brothers  were  introduced,  and  a  spacious  build- 
ing  known  as  "  the  County  House,"  adjoining  the  Pro- 
testant (confiscated)  Cathedral^  was  purchased  for  a  Sem- 
inary, and  dedicated  to  that  holy  object,  under  the  title 
of  St.  Columba.  Here,  when  in  the  city,  the  Bishop  re- 
sided, often  encouraging  and  niingling  with  the  students, 
who  were  destined  to  be  the  future  pastors  of  the  churches 
committed  to  his  care.  With  these  as  with  his  clergy 
"  he  was  more  like  an  elder  brother  than  a  Bishop,"  set- 
ting to  all  the  brightest  example  of  vigilance,  piety,  la- 
bor, and  disinterestedness.  In  his  attention  to  national 
afiairs  he  never  lost  sight  of  the  paramount  claims  of  his 
own  diocese,  to  his  daily  care  and  hourly  exertions. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

DR.  MAOnrys  EVIDE5CK  BEFORE  LORD  DEVOURS  "COMMISSION  Off  THV 
OCCUPATIOff  OF  LAND  Iff  IRELAffD**—- FREQUEffT  MALADMIfflSTRA- 
TIOM  OF  THE  POOR  LAW — THE  FAMINE  AND  THE  OFFICIALS— HIS 
INDIOffATIOff  AT  THE  DESTRUCTIOff  OF  HUMAff  LIFE— HIS  IKCES< 
8ANT  EFFORTS  TO  RELIEVE  THE  FOOR — STRONGLY  OPPOSES  THE 
PROPOSED  WHOLESALE  EMIGRATION  TO  CANADA— "  SOCIETY  FOR 
THE  CONSERVATION   OF   THE    FAITH." 

The  Latin  rite  for  the  consecration  of  a  Bishop  pre 
scribes  an  examination  of  the  postulant,  in  which  among 
other  questions,  it  is  demanded  of  him,  "  "Wilt  thou  bo 
affable  and  merciful  to  the  poor,  to  strangers,  and  to  all 
indigent  persons  on  account  of  he  name  of  the  Lord  ?" 
And  the  Elect  answers,  "  I  will."  Perhaps  no  Bishop 
of  modern  times  ever  made  that  solemn  affirmative  more 
ardently  than  Dr.  Maginn.  All  his  life  long  he  had  been 
affable  and  merciful  to  the  poor,  their  advocate,  adviser, 
protector,  friend,  in  all  their  afflictions  and  privations. 
We  have  purposedly  omitted  in  the  previous  chapters 
some  of  the  evidences  of  his  loving  and  watchful  care  of 
the  poor,  which  were  before  us,  and  to  which  we  now 


\--.i 


88 


LIFE  OF  RIOHT  BEV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


beg  the  reader  who  is  resolved  fully  to  understand  this 
noble  character,  to  lend  his  patient  consideration. 

Of  Dr.  Maginn's  attention  to  social  questions,  we  have 
already  spoken.  Among  these  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant in  Ireland,  is  that  which  involves  the  tenure  of  land. 
The  question  itself  is  old  as  "  the  Reformation,"  and  quite 
OS  deplorable.  It  was  the  fruitful  source  of  wars,  confis- 
cation, legislation,  and  agitation  for  three  centuries.  Dr. 
French  and  Dr.  Swift  had  plied  their  pens  upon  it ;  a 
Bacon,  a  Strafford,  an  Ormond,  a  Chesterfield,  a  Bedford, 
had  acknowledged  its  paramount  importance.  When, 
therefore,  in  1844,  the  Imperial  Parliament  for  the  first 
time  since  the  lost  confiscation  under  William  III.,  or- 
dered an  Imperial  commission  to  inquire  into  the  "  Occu- 
pation of  Land  in  Ireland,"  every  reformer  saw  reason  to 
expect  some  prospective  good.  The  Province  of  Ulster, 
OS  the  home  of  the  usage  or  custom  called  "  Tenant-right" 
was  likely  to  occupy  a  great  deal  of  attention,  and  there 
Mr.  Maginn,  among  many  others,  prepared  himself  to  be 
examined  before  the  commission.  He  issued  a  circular 
to  his  brother  clergymen,  and  to  others  throughout  the 
diocese,  asking  for  answers  to  a  long  series  of  practical 
questions,  and  the  information  thus  obtained  he  carefully 
digested  for  public  effect.  His  examination  occupied 
more  time  than  that  of  any  other  witness  in  his  county, 
with  a  single  exception,  and  for  its  intrinsic  interest,  as 


LIFB  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


89 


well  as  being  his,  deserves  to  be  given  entire — as  it  is,  at 
the  end  of  this  volume.* 

Another  subject  which  never  left  his  mind,  was  the 
administration  of  the  new  Poor  Law.  The  operations  of 
this  law,  unheard  of  in  Ireland,  introduced  new  relations 
and  a  new  machinery  into  its  social  life :  the  relations 
of  the  rate-payers  to  the  poor,  of  *'  the  paupers"  (an  abom- 
inable  term  I)  to  their  guardians,  of  the  guardians  to  the 
clergy  of  the  people,  of  the  government  to  the  clergy  and 
the  guardians,  were  all  to  be  established  and  regulated 
by  experience  rather  than  by  statute.  The  patriot  Pas- 
tor and  Bishop  could  well  remember  the  time  ere  Irish 
mendicancy  had  expanded  to  imperial  proportions ;  when 
the  honest  beggar  was  welcome  to  every  kitchen  corner 
and  every  peasant's  table ;  when  destitution,  though  never 
accounted  a  crime,  was  never  confessed  until  the  last  re- 
sources of  long,  patient  penury  had  failed ;  when,  if  an 
honest  man  was  driven  to  beg,  he  crept  out  in  the 
grey  of  evening,  and  stood,  with  averted  face,  in  the 
shadow  of  some  house  or  street  comer,  silently  pleading 
for  the  morsel  of  food  he  could  no  longer  earn.  As  a 
man  of  heart  and  of  head,  the  new  provisions  for  the 
poor,  established  by  law,  continually  occupied  Mr.  Ma- 
ginn's  attention.  In  1847,  when  the  failure  of  the 
potato  crop  flung  one-third  of  the  peasantry  into  the 
gulf  of  abject  pauperism,  the  new  Bishop  had  ample 

*  See  Appendix. 


90 


LIFE  OP  BIGHT  BKV.  BDWABD  MAGINN. 


opportunities  for  the  exercise  of  all  his  energies  in  their 

behalf.     Some  transactions  of  this  year,  connected  witu 

the  administration  of  the  Poor  Law  at  Newtownliman- 

ady,  at  Omagh,  at  Waterside,  and  at  Cardonagh,  were 

brought  by  him  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Lieute- 
nant and  the  public.    The  following  remonstrance  we 

give,  as  a  specimen  of"  his  energetic  correspondence  with 

Dublin  Castle,  at  that  period : 

LoNDONDBBRY,  Jan.  22,  1847. 
May  it  please  ycntr  Excellency : 

In  consequence  of  a  report  having  been  made  to  me  of  great  num- 
bers of  the  poor  dying  off  daily  in  the  Omagh  workhouse,  I  consid- 
ered it  my  duty,  as  said  work-house  is  within  the  precincts  of  this  dio- 
cese, to  have  the  strictest  inquiry  made  by  one  of  my  clergymen  into 
the  facts  of  the  case  as  submitted  to  me.  I  regret  to  have  to  state  to 
your  Excellency  that  the  result  of  this  inquiry  more  than  confirmed 
the  appalling  communications  I  had  from  that  quarter.  During  the 
month  of  last  December,  one  hundred  individuals  fell  victims,  in  this 
work-house,  to  dysentery  and  scarletina.  From  the  first  of  this  month 
till  the  17th,  more  died  of  the  same  diseases.  I  have  not  been  made 
aware  that  any  special  means  were  resorted  to  to  stay  this  mortality. 
I  am,  on  the  contrary,  led  to  believe  that  the  perishing  multitudes 
scarcely  excited  any  particular  notice  from  the  guardians.  May  it 
please  your  Excellency,  there  is  no  civilized  country  in  the  world 
where  such  an  appalling  event  would  not  at  once  be  brought  under 
the  notice  of  the  proper  authorities,  and  receive  from  them  immediate 
attention.  Believing  in  your  Excellency's  humanity,  I  leave  this,  case 
in  your  hands,  with  all  confidence  that  you  will  not  allow  Her  Majes- 
ty's subjects  to  die  off  in  hundreds  in  an  establishment  benevolently 
designed  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives,  without  having  an  investi- 
gation ordered  into  the  causes  which  may  have  caused  this  mortality. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  most  profound  esteem, 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

•Jn  Eo.  Maginn. 

I  beg  most  respectfully  to  submit  that  it  would  be  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  some  of  the  most  respectable  and  humane  in  that 


^:^-lL.J ]LM-3 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


91 


neighborhood,  were  some  eminent  and  trustworthy  physician  in  your 
Exoellenoy's  confidence  to  be  sent  down  with  powers  to  examine  info 
the  aforesaid  deaths,  and  the  kind  of  treatment  they  receive  during 
their  illness. 

Unfortunately,  the  extraordinary  machinery  erected 
by  the  Irish  government  in  that  year,  to  meet  the  urgen- 
cies of  the  case,  was  placed,  for  the  most  part,  in  utterly 
incompetent  hands.  Sir  John  Burgoyne,  Sir  Harry 
Jones,  Sir  Eandolph  Routh,  and  other  imbecile  officials, 
many  of  whom  have  since  betrayed  their  gross  incom- 
petency on  the  more  conspicuous,  but  not  more  fatal 
fields  of  the  Crimea,  were  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
system.  Their  local  appointments  were  made,  for  the 
mos;-  part,  from  partisan  or  sectarian  partialities.  In 
Innisnowen  this  was  notably  the  case,  as  we  find  Bishop 
Maginix  writing  to  the  new  Lord  Lieutenant,  in  the 
month  of  March.    We  give  this  letter : 

BuNCRANA,  March  21,  1847. 
To  Hit  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Beshoroitgh : 

My  Lord, — As  this  is  the  first  intrusion  on  your  Excellency's  pre- 
cious time  which  I  have  made,  it  will,  I  fondly  hope,  be  looked  on  with 
special  indulgence.  I  should  not  even  have  made  this  trespass,  were  I 
not  urged  to  it  by  a  deep  sense  of  the  duty  which  the  position  I  hold, 
relatively  to  the  suffering  poor  of  this  barony,  has  imposed  upon  me. 
I  might,  my  lord,  add  to  this  my  anxiety  that  your  Excellency's  ad- 
ministration should  escape  the  odium  which  must  be  attached  by  the 
Catholic  public  to  certain  acts  said  to  be  done  under  your  high  name  and 
sanction.  I  therefore  respectfully  solicit  your  Excellency's  attention 
to  statements  made  to  us  by  J.  C.  Deane,  Esq.,  inspecting  oflflcer  un- 
der the  Relief  Commission  for  the  Innishowen  Union.  The  first  that 
your  Excellency  had  appointed,  George  Young,  Esq.,  Culdaff,  John 
Harvey,  Esq.,  Malin  Hall,  Mr.  Corbitt,  ex-inspector  of  the  butter-mar- 


92 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


i''i 


is' 


ket,  Derry,  and  Mr.  Moore,  doer  for  Mr.  Attorney  Rankin,  with  a  few 
acres  of  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Garndonagh,  whose  son  has  been 
lately  elevated  to  the  clerkship  of  the  work-house,  at  a  salary  of  £30 
per  annum,  to  act  as  finance  committee  under  the  10  Victoria  C  7,  and 
superintend  the  distribution  of  the  relief  intended  by  that  benevolent 
enactment  to  be  imparted  to  the  starving  thousands  in  this  barony.  I 
assure  your  Excellency  that  I  could  scarcely  believe  my  senses  on  lis- 
tening to  this  statement  made  by  Mr.  Deane,  and  I  am  sure  there  is 
not  a  Catholic  in  this  barony  who  will  not  feel  amazed  on  being  made 
aware  of  the  constitution  of  the  finance  committee.  I  consider  it  a 
duty  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  the  aforesaid  gentlemen  have 
not,  nor  should  they  have  the  confidence  of  the  Catholic  community — 
the  nine-tenths  of  the  inhabitants  of  Innishowen.  They  are  by  no 
means  such  individuals  as  we  could,  with  any  feeling  for  our  poor,  re- 
commend or  confide  in  under  the  appalling  circumstances  of  these 
timea.  I  do  not  take  any  exception  to  their  religion,  Presbyterian  and 
Protestant,  as  a  man's  religion  in  such  cases  should  not  be  questioned. 
Our  want  of  confidence  in  them  is  based  on  altogether  different  grounds. 
They  have  ever  been  politically  opposed  to  the  great  majority  of  the 
people.  Some  of  them  were  conspicuously  intolerant  in  religious 
matters,  and  in  some  instances  disregarding  the  rights  of  conscience, 
and  anything  but  respectful  to  the  creed  of  their  neighbors.  Some  of 
them  made  more  Catholic  exiles  from  the  homesteads  of  their  fathers 
than  any  in  this  county,  and  substituted  in  their  stead  persons  not 
less  offensive  or  bigoted  than  themselves.  Your  Excellency  will  per- 
ceive that  it.  is  not  wonderful  such  appointments  could  not  be  justly 
expected  to  meet  with  favor  in  our  eyes.  What  appears  to  us  passing 
strange  is  how,  in  a  barony  where  the  Catholics  are  as  ten  to  one, 
many  of  them  large  proprietors,  with  moie  real  wealth  and  more  un- 
encumbered property  than  any  others  of  any  sect  in  the  barony  pos- 
sess, the  afore-mentioned  gentlemen  could  be  selected,  and  Catholics 
vastly  their  superiors  in  mental  culture  and  intellect,  as  well  as  opu- 
lence—who at  all  times  abetted  Whig  principles,  gave  their  votes  to 
Whig  candidates  in  the  county,  met  and  presided  at  large  baronial 
meetings  to  keep  in  Whig  ministries,  whilst  the  members  of  our  finance 
committee  were  arranged  on  the  opposite  side,  only  remarkable  for 
their  virulence  and  unmeasured  hostility  to  Whigery,  and  everything 
bearing  the  character  of  liberality — have  been  passed  over  \mnoticed 
when  such  a  committee  of  surpassing  trust  and  awful  responsibility 

9 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  HAGINN. 


93 


was  oonBtituted.  I  say  it,  my  lord,  with  all  deference,  would  it  have 
been  too  much  for  the  Catholics  of  lunishowen  to  expect  fiom  your 
Excellency  the  appointment  of  some  one  or  two  of  their  body  on  that 
finance  committee,  in  whom  they  could  have  faith  as  taking  an  inters 
est  in  the  prese'A>yation  of  the  lives  of  our  poor  people  1  There  was 
in  Mr.  Moore's  neighborhood  a  young  man,  heir  to  a  considerable 
property — John  Doherty,  Esq.,  of  Garndonagh — whose  dying  uncle 
contributed  more  this  year  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  this  barony, 
than  the  entire  proprietors,  perhaps,  of  the  whole  County  Donegal, 
and  who,  during  his  life-time,  gave  more  in  charity  to  the  poor  than 
the  half  of  the  Tories  in  the  county — a  young  gentleman  of  intellect 
and  mental  adornments  vastly  superior  to  any  of  the  squirearchy  in 
this  union.  Was  it  seemly  to  have  passed  him  over,  and  to  have  ap- 
pointed such  a  man  as  Mr.  Moore,  with  no  mental  culture  and  with 
only  a  ten  or  twenty-acre  farm  of  land.  Believe  me,  my  lord,  no 
other  reason  will  be  assigned  for  it,  but  that  one  happened  to  be  a 
Presbyterian  and  the  other  a  Catholic.  If  this  be  the  way  of  estab- 
lishing religious  equality,  and  inspiring  us  Catholics  with  confidence 
in  the  equity  of  British  rule,  I  fear  much  that  it  will  not  have  *  * 
*  *  *  a  most  solemn  duty — a  duty  I  owed  your  Excellency,  my- 
self and  the  Catholic  community. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  my  lord, 

Tour  Excellency's  obedient  servant, 

•{«  E.  Maginn. 

In  April,  an  aged  woman,  named  Elizabeth  Byrne, 
having  died  of  destitution  near  Buncrana,  from  being 
refused  the  usual  out-of-door  relief,  (nine  pence  per 
week)  the  coroner's  jury  returned  an  inquest  accord- 
ingly, and  Bishop  Maginn  made  their  verdict  the  text 
of  an  animated  correspondence  with  the  Poor  Law 
Commissioners.  Sometimes,  as  in  this  case,  the  local 
officials  succeeded  in  defeating  the  ends  of  justice ;  but 
more  frequently,  as  in  the  cases  at  Kewtownlimavady, 
Omagh  and  Waterside,  inquiry   being   granted,    the 


#4 

t    .4 


94 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


:■■■' 


Bishop  and  the  chaplains  were  gratified  at  finding  unfit 
employees  dismissed  or  better  regulations  made,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  remonstrances. 

The  sufferings  of  the  Irish  poor,  in  that  terrible  year, 
drew  from  the  most  distant  nations  spontaneous  offer- 
ings of  pecuniary  assistance.  The  United  States  de- 
serve the  first  place  among  the  benefactors  of  that 
nation.  France,  Italy  and  Germany  were  not  insensible 
to  her  cries.  Mr.  Maginn  was  usually  made  the  agent 
of  this  benevolence  for  his  part  of  the  island ;  and  per- 
haps we  cannot  do  better  than  give  here  his  eloquent 
acknowledgment  of  donations  from  the  Paris  Com- 
Liittee.  The  following  letter  on  this  subject  is  without 
date,  but  was  evidently  written  in  the  summer  of  1847 : 

Dear  Sir : — I  may,  I  presume,  address  these  friendly,  familiar  terms, 
after  the  kind  acquaintance  that  I  have  formed  with  you  by  your  ex- 
treme attention  to  us  in  the  hour  of  our  need.  I  beg  to  acknowledge 
two  golden  favors  from  you,  the  one  conveying  £160  sterling,  the 
other — the  last  I  had  from  you — £200  sterling. 

To  you  and  the  charitable  contributors  who  made  you  the  channel 
of  these  remittances,  I  beg  to  express  the  assurance  of  our  undying 
gratitude,  and  the  unceasing  prayers  and  benedictions  of  our  numerous 
poor  relieved  by  them.  Out  of  the  evils  that  have  befallen  our  coun- 
try, God  is  working  this  good.  He  is  exhibiting  to  those  that  are 
without,  the  loveliness  and  beauty  of  Catholic  communion,  with  all  its 
endearing  practical  sympathies.  The  remotest  members  of  the  mystie 
body,  BO  interested  in  the  common  weal,  well-being,  feeling  for  and 
communicating  to  the  wants  of  their  distant  brethren,  and  illustrating 
by  these  sweet  manifestations  of  soul  of  charity  that  pervades  each 
and  all  the  beneficent  sentiments  of  the  Gieat  Apostle  of  Ifations, 
"who  is  on  fire  with  whom  I  do  not  burn;  who  is  snfifering  with 
whom  I  do  not  sufifer." 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


95 


France,  as  beeame  her,  being  the  heart  of  Catholic  Christianity 
through  her  magnanimous  prelates,  the  ornaments  of  the  Church  of 
God,  not  less  by  their  learning  than  by  their  charity,  has  been  pre- 
eminent in  this  work  of  beneficence.  In  olden  timed  she  was  the 
refuge  of  our  exiles  for  conscience'  sake,  now  she  is  the  benefactress  of 
our  starving  poor— still  the  same  France  to  Ireland  that  she  was  in 
the  days  of  the  illustrious  Vincent  de  Paul.  She  then  shared  with 
them  the  bread  that  was  necessary  for  her  own  starving  poor;  she, 
during  the  present  year,  came  again  to  the  rescue  of  our  famishing 
people,  even  when  her  own  children  were  suffering  from  the  severest 
visitations.  If  ever,  in  the  councils  of  God,  it  be  decreed  for  our  coun- 
try to  become  an  independent,  prosperous  nation,  may  she  forget  her 
right  hand's  cunning  if  she  forgets  her  Catholic-Irish  France.  It  is 
with  much  pain,  dear  sir,  that  I  have  to  inform  you  that  our  miseries 
do  not  seem  to  have  passed  away  with  the  last  year's  awful  catas- 
trophe. No.  The  present  forebodes  to  us  even  a  more  direful  story. 
Last  year  we  had  many  resources,  at  home  and  abroad  ;  this  year  they 
are  all,  I  may  say,  exhausted.  The  little  means  the  poor  people  had 
by  them  were  last  year  expended  to  preserve  life.  They  were  enabled 
to  seed  their  grounds  and  feed  themselves.  Their  crop,  therefore, 
their  only  hope  of  subsistence,  falls  far  short  of  the  usual  produce. 

The  landlord,  whose  rapacity  was  stayed,  stunned  as  he  was  by  the 
sudden  calamity  that  befel  us,  and  trembling  for  the  results,  the  moni- 
tor conscience  upbraiding  him  that  he  was  the  principal  cause  of  the 
misery  of  the  Irish  peasant,  suspende'd  for  a  season  his  exactions. 
Having  had,  however,  time  to  take  breath,  and  being  encouraged  by  a 
promise  of  support  from  our  kind  government,  to  enable  him  with 
safety  to  extort  the  last  morsel  of  bread  from  his  famishing  tenant,  he  has 
not  awaited  even  the  gathering  in  of  the  harvest  to  force  his  rents,  but, 
like  a  hungry  tiger,  pounces  on  his  victims  while  collecting  the  fruits 
of  the  earth  that  God  sent  them  to  feed  upon  for  another  year,  and  un- 
relentingly carries  away  the  small  produce  of  their  toil  and  labor, 
leaving  themselves  and  their  naked,  shivering,  starving  families,  in  the 
comfortless  cabins  to  die ;  or  if  they  cannot  find  a  Bu£9ciency  to  pay 
their  back  rents,  regardless  of  the  bitter  blast  of  the  coming  winter  or 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  ejected  poor  forced  to  wander,  without  home 
or  shelter,  over  the  land  of  their  fathers,  they  leveled  to  the  earth  their 
cottages  and  turned  to  eheep-walks  or  pasture-grounds  for  fiheir  oxen, 
the  sacred  spots  in  which  beings  made  to  the  image  of  God  dwelt,  they 


-% 


M 


96 


LIFE  OF  BIOHT  BEY.  EDWABD  MAGINN. 


and  their  fathers,  oenturiee  before  theae  alien  monsters  came  to  fktten 
on  the  spoils  of  Ireland. 

To  give  you  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  misery  that  is  nearing  to 
us  with  the  dark  clouds  of  winter,  I  beg  to  submit  one  or  two  facts : 
In  the  diooose  of  Derry  we  have  a  Catholic  population  of  230,000 
souls ;  of  these,  at  the  present  time,  there  are  at  least  50,000  in  actual 
starvation.  Before  the  first  of  March,  in  consequence  of  the  landlords 
having  forced  their  tenantry  to  pay  at  least,  each  and  all,  a  year's  rent 
out  of  the  crop  of  the  season,  100,000  more  will  be  in  the  same  desti- 
tute condition. 

We  have,  it  is  true,  a  poor  law.  Its  principle  is  excellent.  I  say  it 
in  justice  to  the  Whigs ;  the  excellency  of  this  principle  is  theirs.  Tho 
Tories,  however,  took  such  care  to  clog  the  principle  with  so  many  in- 
geniously devised  obstructions,  that  the  law  has  become  inoperative 
and  nearly  useless  as  a  mode  of  relief  They  took  care  to  have  the 
victims  of  oppression  handed  over  to  the  keeping  of  their  oppressors, 
making  the  very  persbns  the  guardians  of  the  poor  who  made  them 
poor.  The  shorn  lamb  is  being  entrusted  to  the  wolf's  protection ; 
the  helpless  dove  is  being  remitted  to  the  falcon  and  the  vulture  for 
the  grain  of  corn  that  must  keep  it  from  starving.  This,  Sir,  is  British 
legislation  for  Ireland.  We  are  now  about  to  have  a  coercion  bill  from 
them.  We  cry  for  bread,  and  the  aid  they  give  us  is  in  thumbscrews, 
racks  and  tortures.  We  call  upon  them  as  responsible  for  the  lives 
of  the  people  they  govern,  to  come  at  once  and  feed  our  famishing 
poor,  and  they  answer  our  petitions  with  a  No,  as  Britain  has  ever 
done,  and  an  intelligible  hint  that  they  have  in  readiness  for  us,  instead 
of  provisions,  bayonets  and  musket-balls.  They  seek  their  justification 
for  this  treatment  in  a  few  murders  that  have  taken  place  in  the  south 
—murders  which  as  Christians  we  deplore,  and  as  Irishmen  deeply 
regret ;  but  that  all  Ireland  should  be  calumniated,  her  poor  neglected 
and  allowed  to  die  of  starvation,  because  a  few  in  one  or  two  counties, 
driven  to  despair  by  oppression  and  want,  in  seeing  their  wives  re- 
duced with  hunger  to  hideous  skeletons,  and  their  children  dying  for 
want  of  food  in  the  arms  of  their  famished  mothers,  their  cottages  in 
ruins  and  themselves  deemed  an  encumbrance  on  the  land  of  their 
birth,  in  their  reckless  despair,  looking  on  earth  and  heaven  as  their 
enemy,  they  forget  the  command,  *'  Thou  shalt  not  kill" — a  command- 
ment they  see  disregarded  by  those  who  should  most  feel  its  obligation 
and  set  to  them  the  example  of  forbearance— cast  themselves  upon 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


97 


those  whom  they  believe  to  be  the  oaiue  of  their  misery,  hurling  them 
before  them  iuto  their  graves,  which  they  saw  had  been  dug  and  pre- 
pared for  themselves.  Wiiy  not  trace  these  murders  to  their  proper 
causes,  and  supply  the  only  remedy  for  the  redress  of  wrongs  that 
have  become  unbearable  1  They  cry  out,  "  O  these  Irish  murderers  !" 
If  they  had  any  other  nation  under  heaven  but  Catholic  Ireland  to 
deal  with,  schooled  by  its  clergy  into  patience  which  has  no  example 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  not  even  among  the  Christians  in  the  eata- 
combs — for  the  rule  of  Nero  or  Dioclesian  was  nothing  to  the  rule  of 
Ireland — they  would  have  long  since  experienced  that  there  was  a  point 
beyond  which  humanity  does  not  endure,  and  the  tyrants  would  have 
been  taught  a  lesson  which  would  have  appalled  the  earth,  making 
the  strong  without  mercy  tremble  in  the  high  places.  Yirginius 
killed  his  own  daughter  sooner  than  allow  her  to  live  a  blasted  flower 
of  disgrace  and  misery,  and  with  the  bloody  dagger  at  hand,  appealed 
to  Rome  for  his  justification.  Any  other  nation  but  Ireland,  ever  fall 
as  she  has  been,  of  faith  and  of  hope,  big  with  immortality,  the  recom- 
pense of  patient  endurance,  would  have  arisen  like  one  man,  and  felling 
with  their  chains  and  fetters  their  oppressors,  or  perishing  in  the  at- 
tempt, would  have  exclaimed  with  the  ancient  Roman,  "A  day,  an  hour 
of  liberty,  is  worth  an  eternity  of  bondage  !" 

Anxious  to  oppress  the  people,  or  allow  them  to  perish  through  des- 
titution, they  wish  to  silence  their  clergy  by  the  vilest  vituperation 
against  their  character.  To  get  at  the  sheep  with  Impunity,  they  wish 
to  muzzle  the  shepherd,  knowing  well  that  they  will  not  suffer  the 
oppression  of  those  who  are  so  dear  to  them  without  reclamation, 
without  an  appeal  to  the  sympathies  of  the  world.  By  their  atrocious 
imputations  they  expect  to  blacken  them  before  men,  so  that  their 
cries  to  humanity  in  behalf  of  their  flocks  might  pass  unheeded  and 
unattended  to.  They  would  blacken  the  whole  Irish  race,  that  th({r 
might  be  victimized  without  commiseration,  seeking  the  justificatioa 
.  of  their  inhumanity  or  barbarity  in  the  depravity  of  the  race  they  im- 
molated. Like  the  alconda  of  Ceylon,  which  is  wont  to  lick  over  with 
its  forked  tongue,  and  cover  with  its  poisonous  slabber  the  prey  it  in- 
tends to  devour,  our  enemies  besmear  us  with  their  foul-mouthed  slan- 
ders, that  they  may  the  more  easily  swallow  us  down. 

When  I  reflect  on  the  unhappy  state  of  our  country  ;  on  the  wrongs 
she  endured  for  ages  in  every  locality ;  on  the  utter  helplessness  of  our 
poor,  and  when  I  consider  that  man's  rule  and  not  God's  was  the  cause 


98 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN 


of  this  ruin,  I  have  been  oft  almost  forced  to  forget  the  character  bo> 
oomiog  a  Christian  bishop,  and  yielding  to  the  feelings  of  outraged 
humanity,  to  cry  out  to  the  God  of  justice,  "  How  long,  0  Lord,  how 
long  ?"  or  to  say  with  the  royal  prophet,  contemplating  in  the  distance 
of  time,  something  similar  to  our  condition,  Babylon's  sway  in  his  own 
beautiful  Palestine,  the  temple  raised  by  his  own  son  a  hideous  ruin, 
his  own  Jerusalem  plundered  and  racked  by  the  heathen  invader,  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  his  people  bending  down  beneath  the  weight  of 
their  slavery,  and  in  their  sorrow  hang  their  harps  on  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates,  far,  far  away  from  the  hills  of  their  fathers,  and  from  their 
own  placid,  beautiful  Jordan,  whose  banks  had  so  often  echoed  with 
their  songs  of  joy, "  Beatttt  qui  alidet  parvieulos  etyrum  in  petram."  The 
religion  of  mercy  and  forgiveness,  however,  forbids  the  aspiration  and 
invites  us  to  bow  our  head  in  resignation  to  the  will  of  that  God  who 
is  patient,  because  he  is  eternal,  aud  who  has  reserved  a  day  for  all 
things,  when  the  just  and  the  wicked  shall  be  judged.  You  will,  I  am 
sure,  sir,  find  an  apology  for  the  length  of  this  letter  in  the  feelings 
that  gave  occasion  to  it.  It  is  the  outpouring  of  a  heart  deeply  sympa- 
thizing with  its  suffering  country,  and  naturally  resenting  the  wrongs  it 
endures  and  has  endured  for  centuries.  After  God,  there  is  no  conso- 
'lation  so  sweet  to  the  wounded  spirit  as  to  have  friends  into  whose  bo- 
soms we  can  confidently  pour  the  secrets  of  our  grief— friends  who  feel 
with  us  and  for  us,  and  whom  we  know  to  be  ready  to  wipe  the  tear 
from  sorrow's  cheek,  and  pluck,  as  far  as  in  them  lies,  the  sword  of 
tribulation  from  the  heart. 

Permit  me.  Sir,  again,  in  the  name  of  the  destitute  of  the  diocese 
of  Derry,  and  in  my  own  name,  to  express  to  you,  in  the  most  deepfelt 
and  warmest  emotion  of  Irish  hearts,  our  thankfulness  to  you,  all  the 
members  of  the  Irish  Relief  Committee  at  Paris,  and  to  all  the  chari- 
table throughout  France,  who  in  any  way  contributed  to  the  relief  of 
our  poor.  May  the  God  who  is  charity  repay  them  one  hundred  fold 
for  their  beneficence  to  us — make  them  happy  on  earth,  and  the  co- 
heirs of  his  own  Divine  Son  in  that  kingdom,  the  sure  inheritance  of 
all  who  scatter  and  give  to  the  poor,  who  are  merciful,  compassionate 
and  just,  is  the  fervent,  heartfelt  prayer  of  your  most  faithful,  obliged 
and  devoted  servant,  ►X'l  E.  Maginn. 

From  Boston,  New  York,  and  Montreal  he  also  re- 
ceived and  acknowledged,   with  his  usual  eloquence, 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


99 


handsome  donations  for  the  use  of  the  poor.  From  his 
correspondence  at  that  period,  wo  shall  give  here  one 
other  letter,  referring  the  reader  to  the  Appendix  for 
further  correspondence  relating  to  the  Famine.  It  is 
from  Dr.  Cullen,  then  President  of  the  Irish  College  at 
Eome. 

IitiSH  CoLLKOE,  March  16,  1847. 

My  Lord,— I  beg  to  forward  to  joar  lordRbip  a  bill  for  £20,  to  be 
applied  by  waj  of  charity  to  the  relief  of  the  poor.  The  person  who 
contributed  this  sum — ^the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Murphy,  Bishop  of  Hyderabud 
— expressed  a  wish  that  it  should  be  sent  to  your  diocese. 

The  accounts  we  receive  here  of  the  state  of  poor  Ireland  are  most 
heart-rending.  Our  good,  holy  Father  the  Pope  feels  most  intensely 
for  the  afflictions  of  his  long-tried  and  faithful  children.  He  inquires 
about  them  every  day.  All  the  good  Romans  enter  fHiUy  into  the  feel- 
ings of  the  Pope.  Their  sympathy  is  great  for  Ireland,  and  they  are 
sending  most  fervent  prayers  to  the  Most  High  to  beg  of  him  to  spare 
our  country,  and  to  avert  the  calamity  which  is  weighing  so  heavily 
on  it.  Your  lordship  has  heard  before  now  that  His  Holiness  contrib- 
uted, last  January,  the  munificent  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  to  be 
applied  to.the  relief  of  the  poor  Irish.  Ere  yesterday  he  told  me  that 
he  would  give  as  much  more  in  a  few  days,  out  of  his  own  slender 
means,  and  that  he  hod  also  determined  in  the  same  way  to  supply  two 
or  three  thousand  dollars,  which  some  pious  ladies  had  collected,  to  be 
devoted  to  charitable  purposes,  and  which  they  put  at  the  Pope'<'  dis- 
posal. This  fact  will  speak  volumes  for  the  Pope's  charity,  and  his 
attaohment  >to  our  poor  people.  What  a  blessing  of  Providence  to 
have  sueh  a  man  in  the  chair  of  Peter,  in  these  times  of  misery  and 
calamity  1  I  hope  that  the  Catholics  in  every  part  of  the  world  will 
become  more  and  more  attached  to  their  chief  pastor,  that  they  will 
glory  laliaving-so  much  virtue  in  so  exalted  a  situation,  and  that  all 
will  vie  in  imitating  the  example  of  charity  which  has  been  given  by 
the  centre  of  unity.  May  we  not  also  hope  that  those  who  shooic  off  the 
paternal  authority  of  Rome,  and  wandered  away  into  the  path  of  error, 
will  at  length  open  their  eyes  to  their  misery  and  spiritual  destitution, 
and  return  to  the  house,  and  acknowledge  the  authority  of  so  good  a 


100 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


father?  They  ought  to  know  that  where  true  charity  resides,  there 
also  true  ftiith  is  to  be  found.  With  what  facility  would  not  distress 
be  relieved,  if  all  Christians  were  united  in  professing  the  same  faith, 
and  if  all  were  obedient  to  the  voice  of  the  holy  successor  of  St.  Peter 
—if  there  wore  but  one  sheepfold  and  one  pastor  ? 

I  am  sorry  to  inform  your  lordship  that  there  is  great  want  In  Italy 
this  year.  Here  in  Rome  provisions  are  scarce  and  dear,  but  the  char- 
ity of  the  rich  Is  so  great  that  there  is  no  destitution  and  no  starva- 
tion. The  nobles  hero  treat  the  poor  with  the  utmost  kindness  ;  they 
do  not  think  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  distribute  alms  with  their  own 
hands,  to  visit  the  abodes  of  the  poor,  and  to  find  out  and  console 
those  who  are  really  in  need.  You  would  be  surprised  to  see  how 
comfortably  the  very  poorest  people  here  are  clad,  though  clothing 
cost  at  least  twice  as  much  as  In  Ireland.  The  spirit  that  prevails  here 
in  regard  to  poverty,  is  quite  different  from  that  which  is  dictated  by 
the  cold  lessons  of  political  economy.  In  the  public  establishments  here 
for  the  poor,  the  boj  s  and  girls  are  draped  in  a  most  respectable  man- 
ner, and  their  diet  is  very  nearly  the  same  as  that  which  is  given  in 
colleges.  They  are  treated  as  members  of  Jesus  Christ,  not  as  slaves 
or  as  a  burden  to  the  earth.  The  Pope  has  visited  all  the  public  e»> 
tabllshments  in  Rome,  and  his  kindness  and  affability  to  the  lowest  of 
the  poor  have  added  greatly  to  the  affection  which  all  ch\sscs  entertain 
for  him.  I  hope  the  poor  in  Ireland  will  unite  their  prayers  with  t4iose 
of  the  good  Romans,  to  obtain  from  God,  for  so  good  a  Pontiff,  a  long 
and  happy  reign. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  we  had  public  prayers  in  Rome  for  Ireland. 
These  few  days  back  we  have  had  a  novena  in  the  church  of  St. 
Agatha  in  honor  of  St.  Patrick,  to  beg  of  him  to  intercede  for  fbe 
country  which  was  the  theatre  of  his  labors,  and  where  he  gained  that 
crown  of  glory  which  distinguishes  him.  We  had  the  rosary  each  eve- 
ning, an  English  sermon,  the  litanies  of  the  saints,  the  prayers  pre- 
scribed by  the  ritual  in  time  of  famine,  and  in  the  end  Benediction  wi(h 
the  Blessed  Sacrament.  I  hope  they  have  had  public  prayers  in  every 
part  of  Ireland,  and  that  they  will  persevere  in  them.  The  calamity 
is  so  great  that  it  is  to  God  alone  we  should  look  for  relief.  I  trust 
that  his  mercy  will  be  moved  by  the  powerful  intercession  of  the  help 
of  Christians  and  the  consoler  of  the  afflicted — ^the  most  holy  Virgin — 
to  whom  our  poor  were  always  devotedly  attached.  If  she  do  not  ob- 
tain temporal  relief,  she  will  certainly  secure  for  the  poor  that  which 


:mm 


^'■I.TS^'" 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  RKV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


101 


is  inflnltoly  moro  important,  the  grace  of  dying  a  happy  death.  How 
many  of  them  will  puss  from  the  miseries  of  this  vale  of  tears  to  eter- 
nal happiness,  if  they  put  themselves  under  her  protection  1 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 

Your  lordship's  humble  servant, 

Paul  Oollen. 

The  continued  negligence  of  subordinates,  indifference 
of  superiors,  and  insensibility  of  the  government  to  tho 
wholesale  destruction  of  Irish  life,  at  last  inspired  Dr. 
Jkfaginn  with  that  deep-seated  abhorrence  of  English 
misrule,  which  he  carried  with  him  to  the  grave.  In  a 
lettar  of  this  year  to  Mr.  Poulett  Scrope,  M.  P.,  he 
franldy  proclaims  his  indignation  against  the  govern- 
ment. "  For  myself,"  he  says,  "  as  a  Christian  Bishop, 
living  aa  I  am,  amidst  scenes  that  must  rend  the  heart 
of  any  having  the  least  feeling  of  humanity,  though 
attaclied  to  our  Queen  as  much  from  affection  as  from 
the  duty  of  allegiance,  I  don't  hesitate  to  say  to  you 
that  there  is  no  means  under  heaven  that  I  would  not 
cheerfully  resort  to  to  redeem  my  people  from  their 
present  misery ;  and  sooner  than  allow  it  to  continue, 
like  the  Archbishop  of  Milan,  I  would  grasp  the  cross 
and  the  green  flag  of  Ireland  and  rescue  my  country,  or 
perish  with  its  people." 

His  noble  anger  was  no  less  aroused  against  the 
cruel,  prodigal  aristocracy  of  confiscation.  Some  of 
their  number  having  addressed  him  a  circular  letter, 
asking  his  co-operation  in  a  system  of  wholesr 

"^^fOPOLls  COtj 
""BSnwy,  own 


102 


LIFE  or  RIGHT  RKV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


tion   to  British  North  America,  ho  thus  passionately 
replied  to  them : 

"  Employ  tho  Iriflh  Oathollo  peasant  anywbore,  tay  you,  bat  not  in 
Ireland.  Join  us  in  removing  tlie  oarrion  people  flrom  before  our  eyes 
beyond  tbe  seas,  or  anywhere,  that  we  may  forget  the  misery  we  ore- 
ated,  and  banish  the  appprehensiou  of  rotrlbntlye  justice  which  God 
always  reserres  for  the  tyrants  and  oppressors  of  the  people,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  tho  oppressed.  Tbe  murderers  would  wish  to 
hide  their  victims,  lent  their  mangled  fVamcs  should  rise  in  Judgment 
against  them.  It  will  not,  however,  gentlemen,  do.  The  bulk  of  the 
Irish  Catholic  people  will  stick  to  their  native  soil,  were  it  for  nothing 
else  but  to  haunt  you  in  your  dreams  of  pleasure.  Since  you  would 
not  let  the  peasants  live  as  Christians,  you  will  be  forced  to  look  on 
their  spectres — they  will  stick  to  you  like  the  '  man  of  the  sea  on  Sin- 
bod's  back  ;'  and  since  you  would  not  raise  them  up,  they  will  harve 
tiie  gratification  of  bringing  you  down  to  their  own  level.  You  may 
ehnddor  at  the  thought  of  being  brought  into  association  with  the  filth 
and  rags  of  these  skeletons  of  your  own  making,  as  Satan  shrunk  back 
when  he  saw  the  hideous  forms  of  Sin  and  Death  which  he  himself  had 
created." 

In  that  miserable  time,  not  only  the  bodies  but  the 
Bouls  of  the  people,  were  in  imminent  danger.  The 
Pharisees,  "who  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one 
proselyte,"  could  not  resist  the  opportunity  of  tempting 
the  famished  poor  to  swap  their  immortal  souls  for  sec- 
tarian soup.  In  Derry  as  in  Dingle,  in  Innishowen  as 
in  Achill,  the  Apostle  of  Famine  was  abroad,  present- 
ing his  bread  and  butter  done  up  in  Bible  leaves ;  offer- 
ing, with  the  same  hand,  potatoes  and  publications. 
How  much  printed  piety  went  with  a  peck  of  potatoes,  to 
what  extenta  stone  of  Indian  meal  ought  to  be  leavened 
with  godly  exhortation,  these  apostles  were  thoroughly 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


103 


instructed.  Thoj  earned  with  them  a  theological  tariff, 
a  sectarian  sliding  ;.cale,  by  which  their  charities  (for- 
give the  profanation  I)  wore  measured  out  and  regulated. 
Against  such  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  Dr.  Maginn 
was  constantly  on  the  alert.  In  the  Poor  Houses,  in 
the  famished  districts,  in  the  back  lanes  of  towns,  he 
set  watchers  and  traps  for  them.  Finally,  he  founded 
throughout  his  Diocese  "  The  Society  for  the  Con- 
servation OF  the  Faith,"  in  humble  imitation  of  the 
illustrious  and  encyclical  "  Association  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith."  This  Society,  composed  of  cate- 
chists,  visitors,  and  subscribers,  exercised  a  moat  salu- 
tary influence  in  those  seasons  of  fearful  temptation,  and 
continued  to  flourish  during  the  life-time  of  its  founder. 
Whether  it  still  exists,  we  are  not  informed. 


CHAPTEE   Y. 

DK.  MAGII»N*S  VIEWS  OF  OHWROH  POLITY  IN  IRELAND— THE  CHARI- 
TABLE BEQUESTS  ACT — THE  QUEEN's  COLLEGES — DIFFERENCES  OF 
OPINION  AMONG  THE  HIHRARCHY  ON  THE  COLLEGES  ACT  AS 
AMENDED — ACCESSION  OF  THE  WHIGS  TO  POWER — THE  NEW 
POPE — EPISCOPAL  MEETINGS  IN  1846 — THE  APPEAL  TO  ROME — 
OTHER  EPISCOPAL  MOVEMENTS — PROPOSED  NATIONAL  ADDRESS  TO 
POPE    PIUS    IX. 

Dr.  Magixn's  system  of  church  polity  was,  in  some 
of  its  combinations,  wholly  his  own.  With  Dr.  Crolly 
and  Dr.  Murray,  he  favored  and  fostered  the  national 
schools ;  but  he  separated  from  them  on  the  Charitable 
Bequests  Act,  and  the  subsequent  scheme  of  academic 
education.  A  Derry  editor,  writing  after  his  death,  has 
said :  "  It  has  been  to  us  an  enigma  that  he  who  so 
largely  patronized  national  schools  within  his  parish 
and  elsewhere,  should  have  joined  in  the  opposition  to 
the  Queen's  Colleges,  which  are  founded  on  precisely 
the  same  principles  as  those  schools.  If  there  be  differ- 
ences, in  point  of  principle,  between  the  two  sets  of  in- 
stitutions, by  which  the  interests  of  particular  creeds 
are  to  be  effected,  we  confess  that  we  cannot  discover 
them." 

The  essential  difference  between  the  two  institutions — 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


105 


a  primary  parochial  school  and  a  college  controlled  by 
the  State — seems  to  us  clear  enough.  In  the  former,  ru- 
dimental  knowledge  only  was  taught ;  in  the  latter, 
history,  philosophy,  geology,  all  studies  which  include 
views  or  questions  of  revelation,  were  to  form  the 
course.  In  the  schools,  the  pastor  was  entitled  to  be  a 
visitor,  and  if  he  chose,  a  patron ;  while  the  colleges 
were  to  be  governed  exclusively  by  their  own  superiors, 
appointed  directly  by  the  Crown,  and  subject  only  to 
the  visitations  of  a  royal  commission.  The  Derry  jour- 
nalist continues  his  criticism  in  these  words : 

"  We  have  sat  down,  not  to  compose  an  indiscriminate  eulogy  upon 
an  eminent  individual,  but  to  express  our  candid  sentiments  with  re- 
gard to  him,  as  the  most  fitting  tribute  due  to  his  worth.  We  would 
say,  then,  that  it  has  occurred  to  us  that,  of  late  years,  the  scenes  ol 
misery  which  he  had  to  witness,  operating  on  his  extreme  sensibility, 
united  to  an  erroneous  view  of  the  ability  of  government  to  relieve 
the  whole  wants  of  a  famishing  land,  rendered  him  morbidly  suspicious 
of  government  and  its  acts,  and  disposed  him  to  concur  with  Dr. 
MacHale  in  his  general  views  of  ecclesiastical  polity.  One  prominent 
trait  in  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.'S;  character  was  a  most  intense  feeling  of 
nationality — a  feeling  which  is  the  basis  of  patriotism,  one  of  not  the 
least  bright  and  useful  of  human  virtues ;  but  it  has  been  remarked  by 
several  persons,  besides  ourselves,  that  his  nationality,  associating  it- 
self too  constantly  with  ancient  griefs,  inclined  him  to  be  harsh,  at 
times,  in  judging  whatever  was  English,  and  we  can  imagine  that  it 
veiled  from  his  mind's  eye  what  appears  to  us  the  undesirableness  and 
the  impracticability  of  a  certain  popular  measure.  There  was  no  wit- 
ness examined  here  by  the  Devon  Commission,  whose  evidence  gave 
more  satisfaction  than  Dr.  Maginn's  ;  and  we  have  reason  to  think 
that  his  belief  then  was  that  by  imperial  legislation  the  country  might 
be  brought  to  a  satisfactory  condition.  Unfortunately,  there  is  a  tar- 
diness in  that  legislation  which  does  not  suit  Celtic  impatience.  By 
some  of  his  friends  it  was  lamented  that,  in  politics,  he  assumed  the 
6* 


106 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


attitude  which  latterly  he  did,  but  we  presume  that  it  had  the  appro- 
bation of  many  more.  No  one,  however,  could  suspect  the  perfect  sin- 
cerity and  disinterestedness  of  the  course  which  he  took.  It  is  the 
privilege  of  every  man  to  impugn  the  soundness  of  opinions  from 
which  he  dissents ;  but  no  man  of  a  well-ordered  mind  would  deny 
honor  to  another  on  account  of  the  depth  and  strength  of  his  convic- 
tions." 

It  is  C(}rtain,  from  his  correspondence,  that  he  had 
decided  against  the  Bequests  Act  and  the  new  colleges,  as 
he  did  in  most  other  matters  of  conduct,  on  independent 
grounds.  It  nowhere  appears  that  he  had  any  personal 
intercourse  with  the  Archbishop  of  T':am  before  his 
consecration;  the  opposite,  indeed,  seems  implied  in  his 
letters  of  that  time.  With  the  Bishop  of  Meath,  Dr. 
Cantwell,  one  of  the  best  and  wisest  of  his  high  order; 
he  was  in  frequent  communication,  from  the  time  he 
was  nominated  for  the  administratorship.  Through  him, 
and  through  his  old  Monaghan  classmate.  Dr.  McNally  of 
Clogher,  he  was  kept  informed  of  the  views  of  the  Pre- 
lates who  acted  with  Dr.  McHale,  but  he  did  not  catch 
up  his  opinions  from  his  correspondents.  While  hum- 
ble as  a  monk  and  open  to  advice  as  any  child,  the 
fruitfulness  and  vigor  of  his  own  mind,  naturally  led 
him  to  take  decided  steps  in  advance,  even  of  his  intimate 
associates.  We  shall  see  additional  evidences  of  this 
before  we  close  the  narrative. 

In  opposition  to  "  the  Bequests  Act"  of  1844,  we  find 
in  Dr.  Maginn's  handwriting  the  resolutions  adopted  by 
the  Bishop  and  Clergy  of  Derry. 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


107 


CHARITABLE    BEQUESTS   ACT. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Catholic  Bishop  and  Clergy  of  the  diocese  of 
Derry,  held  in  St.  Cohiinb*s  ou  Wednesday,  January  22,  1845,  to  take 
into  consideration  the  Charitable  Bequests  Ace  and  the  Concordat,  said 
to  be  ia  contemplation  between  the  courts  of  Rome  and  England,  the 
following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

1.  Rebolved,  That  at  this  eventful  crisis,  when  the  civil  and  religious 
liberties  of  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics  are  being  attacked  by  all  the 
craft  and  cunning  of  British  diplomacy,  it  is  imperative  on  all,  clergy 
and  people,  to  express  their  decided  hostility  to  such  baneful  and  in- 
sidious policy,  and  publicly  avow  their  determination  to  resist,  by 
every  legal  and  constitutional  means,  any  attempt  made  or  to  be  made, 
no  matter  from  what  quarter  it  proceeds,  to  invade  their  ecclesiastical 
immunities  or  curtail  those  natural  rights  which  they  }ustly  deem  im- 
prtscriptible  and  inalienable. 

2.  Resolved,  That  having  duly  considered  the  Charitable  Bequests 
Act  in  all  its  bearings,  in  the  benefits  it  pretends  to  confer  and  the 
evils  it  purposes  to  inflict,  and  maturely  and  impartially  weighed  the 
arguments  put  forth  for  and  against  that  measure  by  its  ablest  defend- 
ers and  opponents,  we  have  at  length  come  to  the  concluoion,  that  it 
does  not  contain  a  single  clause  conferring  an  unmixed  good,  whilst  it 
clearly  purports  to  inflict  distinct  and  positive  evils.    Its  benefits  are 
delusive^ — its  disadvantages  real.    The  commission,  from  the  manner  of 
its  appointment,  cannot  be  trustworthy,  depending  for  its  constitution 
on  the  honesty  of  the  minister  of  the  da}' ;  its  most  conspicuous  element 
is  the  old  leaven  of  ascendancy  ;  the  majority,  even  at  the  present 
moment,  includes  the  ill-omened  names  of  the  sworn  libellers  of  our 
faith  and  most  inveterate  enemies  of  our  freedom.     Under  such  a  tu- 
telage, where  the  least  even  of  our  civil  liberties  would  be  insecure, 
Catholic  charities  could  not  be  safe.     The  very  nature  of  its  duties 
supposes  a  violation  of  Episcopal  rights.    The  most  revered  and  sanc- 
tified of  Catholic  institutions  are  directly  attacked  by  this  Act,  and 
their  extinction  insured.    Justice  and  charity,  So  necessary  to  the  dying 
penitent,  it  arrests  and  binds  in  its  legal  fetters.     It  insults  and  calum- 
niates the  Irish  priesthood,  even  in  the  awful  ministration  of  their 
holy  rites  at  the  bedside  of  the  expiring  Christian.     This  Act,  in  a 
word,  we  denounce  as  an  old  penal  law,  dressed  up  in  a  new  garb— a 
rusty  weapon  drawn  from  the  timeworu  armory  of  the  Star  Chamber, 
polished,  edged  and  fashioned  anew,  in  the  ministerial  smithy,  to  suit 


108 


LIFE   OF  EIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


tlie  taste  and  temper  of  the  enlightened  times  we  live  in,  and  to  insidi* 
ously  stab  religion  in  its  most  vital  parts — its  cliurities. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  petition  now  read — a  petition  for  the  repeal 
of  said  iniquitous  Act — be  forthwith  signed  by  the  Catholic  Bishop 
ond  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Derry,  and  forwarded  to  Daniel  O'Connell, 
Esq.,  M.  P.,  for  presentation  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  to  Lord 
Camoys  for  presentation  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

4.  Resolved,  That  we  recognize  with  feelings  of  heartfelt  gratitude, 
the  finger  of  God,  in  the  preservation  of  the  life  of  Daniel  O'Connell, 
to  detect  and  expose  the  mischievous  schemes  of  the  enemies  of  our 
country  and  creed  ;  and  that  we  hereby  pledge  ourselves,  in  the  tem- 
ple and  before  the  altar  of  our  Redeemer,  to  stand  by  him,  through 
good  report  and  evil  report,  in  the  face  of  foreign  and  domestic  foes, 
and  to  assist  him  with  all  the  zeal,  temper  and  Spirit  "which  the  Gospel 
inspires  in  the  cause  of  suffering  humanity,  in  every  legal  and  consti- 
tutional effort  he  may  make  to  secure  our  holy  religion  against  the 
"wiles  of  its  enemies,  or  to  restore  the  rights  and  redress  the  wrongs 
of  the  ever  faithful  but  deeply  injured  people  of  Ireland. 

5.  Resolved,  That  we  have  heard  v  'th  alarm  that  a  concordat  be- 
tween the  courts  of  Rome  and  England  was  in  contemplation.  Con- 
vinced of  the  evil  consequences  which  resulted  from  similar  negocia- 
tions  to  the  liberties  of  the  Catholic  church  in  other  countries,  we  can- 
not view,  without  strong  feelings  of  apprehension,  auy  proceeding 
having  a  tendency  to  affect  our  ecclesiastical  liberties,  and  that  -we 
hereby  enter  our  solemn  protest  against  any  concordat,  unless  it  be 
solely  for  commercial  or  international  purposes,  which  may  directly 
or  indirectly  infringe  on  the  usages,  customs  or  immunities  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  Irt^land,  and  in  the  face  of  heaven  declare,  that  we 
will  consider  it  a  conscientious  duty  to  resist,  by  all  justifiable  means, 
any  such  aggressions  on  our  holy  religion. 

6.  Resolved,  That  however  uncongenial  it  may  be  to  our  feelings  sis 
His  ministers,  who  said,  "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,"  to  be  in 
any  manner  mixed  up  in  matters  purely  temporal,  such  is  the  anom- 
alous condition  of  Ireland,  with  nearly  tliree  millions  of  her  people  the 
victims  of  a  misrule — conceived  in  bigotry  and  still  fostered  by  the 
most  bitter  sectarian  prejudices,  in  a  state  of  utter  destitution  and  mis- 
ery shocking  to  humanity,  t.od  making  the  lot  of  the  negro  slave  envi- 
able— it  would  be  inconsistent  with  our  duties,  bound  as  we  are  to 
them  by  every  tie,  divine  and  human,  not  to  use  those  weapons  which 


LIFE   OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


109 


charity  ordains  and  religion  approves  to  ameliorate  their  condition 
and  carry  out  the  views  of  God  towards  them,  in  making  them  free  and 
happy  in  the  land  he  gave  them.  With  these  convictions,  disposed  to 
faithfully  discharge  the  threefold  duty  imposed  on  us,  we  will,  as  sub- 
jects, bear  strict  allegiance  to  our  gracious  sovereign  in  civil  matters  ; 
as  Catholic  Christians,  uudeviating  attachment  and  submission  in  faith 
and  morals  to  the  center  of  Catholic  unity — His  Holiness  the  Pope ; 
as  Irishmen,  undying  devotion  to  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  Irish 
people,  who  never  changed  their  faith  from  their  God  or  from  their 
priesthood  ;  in  the  words  of  an  immortal  Irish  prelate,  *'  Like  the  Le« 
vites  of  old  after  returning  from  their  long  captivity,  we  will  employ 
one  hand  to  defend  them  against  the  aggressions  of  their  implacable 
enemies,  and  with  the  other  we  will  cleanse  our  holy  places,  rebuild 
our  sanctuaries,  make  new  vessels  for  the  sacrifice,  and  worship  with 
them  at  our  half-raised  altars,"  ready  to  retire  altogether  within  the 
chancel  and  the  sanctuary,  when  o'ir  country  is  a  nation  and  our  coun- 
trymen prosperous  and  free.  If  condemned  for  our  patriotism  we  will 
console  ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  we  contend  in  the  same 
ranks  with  the  amiable  Las  Casas  and  the  immortal  Lankton,  ond  that 
He  was  not  insensible  to  this  feeling,  who  said,  *'  Muerior  supertur 
bum,"  and  who  did  not  refuse  a  tear  to  His  beloved  Jerusalem,  when 
he  saw  in  the  distance  her  Sion  in  ruins,  hunger  howling  within  her 
walls,  her  children  a  prey  to  the  Gentile,  her  liberties  extinct  and  her 
ancient  glories  departed. 

That  measure  was,  however,  become  the  law  of  the 
land,  and  until  this  day  such  it  remains.  One  or  two 
remarkable  cases  have  been  decided  under  its  provisions ; 
that  no  more  have  been  litigated  is  the  most  convincing 
proof  that  the  clergy  of  Ireland  have  not  generally  en- 
couraged death-bed  bequests.  To  deny  by  statute  to 
the  dying  Christian  such  a  consoling  privilege — to  sub- 
ject religious  bequests  of  any  kind  to  the  administration 
of  a  crown  commission  seems  cruel,  unchristian  and  des- 
potic.    The  opposition  of  the  Irish  Church  and  people 


110 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAQINN. 


was  to  the  principle  of  the  measure ;  that  it  has  not  been 
found  in  operation  as  oppressive  as  its  capacity  of  inter- 
pretation would  permit,  is  no  merit  in  its  authors. 

The  contest  with  government  on  the  Queen's  Colleges 
was  more  protracted  and  eventful.  The  establishment 
of  such  colleges  at  Cork,  at  Galway,  and  at  Belfast — to 
possess  collectively  the  dignity  and  privileges  of  a  Uni- 
versity, was  a  favorite  project  of  Sir  Eobert  Peel's  last 
administration.  T^^*>  proposition  was  moved  eariy  in 
1 845,  and  received  the  sanction  of  Pariiament,  with  what 
were  called  Sir  James  Graham's  amendments,  the  same 
session. 

The  history  of  this  measure  and  the  opposition  to  it  is 
highly  instructive.  On  its  first  appearance  the  Primate 
summoned  a  special  meeting  of  the  Irish  Bishops,  at  a 
week's  notice,  in  Dublin.  It  was  there  unanimously 
condemned  in  the  language  of  the  Primate's  circular  "  as 
dangerous  to  faith  and  morals,"  and  a  memorial  to  the 
Lord  Lieutenant  (Heytesbury),  containing  their  objec- 
tions and  demands  agreed  upon.  As  showing  the  spirit 
and  resolution  of  the  Bishops,  this  document  is  worth 
preserving. 

THE   MEMORIAL   OF  THE   ROMAN  CATHOLIC  ARCHBISHOPS   AND   BISHOPS 

OF   IRELAND. 

"  HvMBLT  SHOWETH— That  Memorialists  are  disposed  to  co  :>perate 
on  fair  and  reasonable  terms  with  Her  Majesty's  Government  and  the 
Legislature,  in  establishing  9-  system  for  the  further  extension  of  Acar 
demical  education  in  Ireland. 

"  That  the  circumstances  of  the  present  population  of  Ireland  afford 


^7'     V- 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


Ill 


plain  evidence  ths^.  a  large  majority  of  the  etadents  belonging  to  the 
middle  classes  will  be  Roman  Catholics,  and  memorialists,  as  their 
spiritual  pastors,  consider  it  their  indispensable  dutj  to  secure  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power,  the  most  effectual  means  of  protecting  the 
faith  and  morals  of  the  students  in  the  new  colleges,  which  are  to  be 
erected  for  their  better  education. 

"  That  a  fair  proportion  of  the  professors,  and  other  oflSce-bearers  in 
the  new  colleges,  should  be  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
whose  moral  conduct  shall  have  been  properlj  certified  by  testimonials 
of  character,  signed  by  their  respective  prelates.  And  that  all  the 
office-bearers  in  those  colleges  should  be  appointed  by  a  board  of  trus- 
tees, of  which  the  Roman  Catholic  prelates  of  the  province  in  which 
any  of  those  colleges  shall  be  erected,  shall  be  members. 

"  That  the  Roman  Catholic  pupils  could  not  attend  the  lectures  on 
history,  logic,  metaphysics,  moral  philosophy,  geology  or  anatomy, 
without  exposing  their  faith  or  morals  to  imminent  danger,  unless  a 
Roman  Catholic  professor  will  be  appointed  for  each  of  those  chairs. 

"  That  if  any  president,  vice-president,  professor  or  office-bearer  in 
any  of  the  new  colleges  shall  be  convicted,  before  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, of  attempting  to  undermine  the  faith,  or  injure  the  morals  of  any 
student  in  those  institutions,  he  shall  be  immediately  removed  from  his 
office  by  the  same  board. 

"  That  as  it  is  not  contemplated  that  the  students  shall  be  provided 
with  lodging  in  the  new  colleges,  there  shall  be  a  Roman  Catholic 
chaplain  to  superintend  the  moral  and  religious  instruction  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  students  belonging  to  each  of  those  colleges  ;  that  the 
appointment  of  each  chaplain,  with  a  suitable  salary,  shall  be  made 
on  the  recommendation  of  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  of  the  diocese 
in  whtch  the  college  is  situate,  and  that  the  same  prelate  shall  have 
full  power  and  authority  to  remove  such  Roman  Catholic  chaplain 
from  his  situation.  "  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting, 

"  t  ^'  MoBBAT,  Chairman. 

«  Ddblik,  May  23, 1845." 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Bishops  in  June,  at 
Maynooth,  they  reiterated  their  determined  opposition, 
and  again  in  September,  the  Board  of  Bishops,  Trustees 
of  the  College,  repeated  it  a  third  time,  "  lest  our  be- 


112 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


loved  flocks  should  be  apprehensive  of  any  change  being 

wrought  in  our  minds."    Such  a  change  was  reported  to 

have  been  wrought  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Crolly  and  those 

who  usually  coincided  in  his  judgment.    In  August,  at 

a  popular  meeting  in  Armagh  to  secure  the  Provincial 

College  for  that  neighborhood,  he  was  publicly  reported 

to  have  declared  the  amended  act  to  be  unobjectionable 

to  Catholics.    This  drew  out  an  emphatic  statement  to 
the  contrary  effect  from  the  zealous  Bishop  of  Meath, 

addressed  to  Mr.  O'Connell.  At  the  annual  November 
meeting  of  the  Bishops,  the  literal  recondemnation  be- 
came a  test  question  between  two  sections  of  that  illus- 
trious body ;  the  Archbishops  of  Tuam  and  Cashel,  with 
eighteen  Bishops,  voting  for  the  old  exact  terms, 
"  dangerous  to  faith  and  morals,"  and  the  Archbishops 
of  Armagh  and  Dublin,  with  Drs.  Eyan,  McGettigan, 
Browne  (of  Kilmore,)  and  Denvir,  voting  simply  that 
"  the  Bill  in  its  amended  form  be  submitted  to  the  Holy 
See  for  its  consideration  and  decision."  The  prelates 
who  were  in  the  majority  also  resolved  "  to  lay  before 
the  Holy  Father  our  former  resolutions,  and  their  appli- 
cation to  the  act  in  its  present  form,  together  with  the 
grounds  on  which  those  resolutions  were  founded,  in 
order  that  we  may  all  receive  the  decision  of  his  Holiness, 
and  recognize  the  voice  of  Peter  in  the  person  of  his 
successor."  To  this  resolution,  and  that  taken  at  May- 
nooth  two  months  before,  Dr.  Maginn,  then  only  Bishop* 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


118 


elect,  gave  in  his  formal  adhesion  as  soon  as  conse- 
crated. 

The  laity  were  not  more  unanimous  at  first  than  the 
Bishops.  By  its  advocates  it  was  represented  to  be  the 
complement  of  the  National  School  system.  Assuming 
the  bane  of  the  soil  to  be  sectarianism,  they  proposed  as 
a  remedy  "  mixed  education."  They  pointed  out,  justly 
enough,  the  inadequacy  of  Trinity  College,  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  middle  and  professsonal  classes.  They 
painted  in  the  glowing  colors  of  Irish  fancy  the  healing, 
strengthening  and  ennobling  effects  of  such  institutions 
on  the  provincial  mind.  They  treated  with  impatience 
or  incredulity  the  refined  reasoning  of  the  opposition, 
whose  motives  as  usual  were  exposed  to  the  unfairest 
interpretations  of  the  less  scrupulous  among  the  advo- 
cates. It  was  a  strange  combination  of  views  and  in- 
terests— ^Dr.  Murray  and  the  party  of  conciliation,  with 
Mr.  Davis  and  the  party  of  revolution,  the  Catholic  aris- 
tocracy of  the  Blake  and  Bellew  order,  with  the  Unita- 
rian rationalists  of  the  Eemonstrant  Synod.  Against 
these  unusual  allies,  O'Conneli  and  his  friends  maintain- 
ed that  the  higher  education  could  not  safdly  be  divorced 
ftom  religion ;  that  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  could  never 
consent  to  send  their  sons  to  "godless  colleges;"  that 
to  put  "all  religions"  on  an  equality,  as  the  phrase 
went,  was  to  do  infinite  injustice  to  the  one  true  faith, 
and  to  offer  a  premium,  not  on  liberality  but  on  laxity. 


114 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


to  secure  a  growth  not  of  good  will  and  brotherly  love 
among  different  denominations,  but  of  chilling  skeptical 
indifference  to  all  religion.  They  pointed  to  the  fruits 
of  a  similar  system  in  Germany,  and  in  France  at  that 
moment  under  Louis  Phillippe ;  in  the  literature  of  ma- 
terialism and  infidelity  which  had  covered  France,  Swit- 
zerland and  Prussia,  with  seeds  of  lawlessness  and  un- 
belief; which  spoke  by  the  mouths  of  Michelet,  of  Eugene 
Sue,  of  Louis  Blanc,  and  of  Strauss,  uttering  the  wildest 
chimeras,  the  most  poisonous  sophistries,  and  the  most 
horrid  blasphemies.  They  declared  the  old  "hedge 
schools,"  with  all  their  shortcomings,  to  be  infinitely  pre- 
ferable to  the  introduction  of  so  dangerous  a  system, 
however  modified  it  might  be,  in  detaik ,  Of  this  mind 
was  Dr.  Maginn,  and  we  have  evidence  enough  to  claim 
for  him  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the  most  effective  op- 
ponents of  the  new  academical  system. 

A  draft  of  the  Maynooth  declaration  had  been  sent  to 
each  Bishop  by  its  immediate  authors,  with  the  exception 
of  the  old  Bishop  of  Derry,  who  was  laboring  under 
mental  affliction.  In  a  letter  to  the  Eev.  Dr.  Maginn, 
dated  September  22,  the  Bishop  of  Meath  explains  that 
in  this  the  promoters  were  influenced  by  a  feeling  of 
delicacy,  arising  from  the  painful  and  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  Derry ;  adding  immediately  the  expression  of 
their  thorough  conviction,  "  That  the  Irish  Church  will 
be  sustained  in  the  present  eventful  crisis  by  the  active 


LIFE  OP  BIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


115 


^  love 
jptical 
fruits 
X  that 
)f  ma- 
,  Swit- 
ad  un- 
Cugene 
ivildest 
e  most 
'  hedge 
jly  pre- 
system, 
s  mind 
claim 
ive  op- 
sent  to 
jeption 
under 
Laginn, 
LS  that 
ling  of 
jircum- 
don  of 
5h  will 
active 


co-operation  of  a  clergy,  who  have  been  always  prominent 
in  defending  her  rights  and  promoting  her  interests." 
The  clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Derry  accordingly  met  to 
express  their  "entire  and  cordial  concurrence  in  the 
decision  and  declaration  of  the  synod,  held  in  Dublin  on 
the  18th  of  last  November." 

Their  noble  pronunciamento  of  this  year,  suggested 
probably  by  this  letter,  is  Dr.  Maginn's  composition,  with 
the  exception  of  the  paragraph  sixthly^  which  was  insert- 
ed by  Archdeacon  McCarron.  As  agreed  on  it  runs  thus : 

"  "We  object  to  the  proposed  system  : 

"  Firstly.  Because  it  affords  no  suflQcient  guarantee  against  the  cor- 
ruption of  faith  and  morals,  nor  any  adequate  warrant  for  their  invio- 
lability. 

"  Secondly.  We  object  to  it,  because  it  makes  no  suitable  provision 
for  religious  instruction,  inasmuch  as  any  national  system  of  education 
for  Ireland,  to  be  perfect,  should  not  only  not  interfere  with  the  reli- 
gious opinions  of  any,  but  should  secure  the  religious  instruction 
of  all. 

"  Thirdly.  We  object  to  it  because  it  violates  the  canons  of  the  Ca- 
tholic Church,  taking  the  entire  control  over  the  education  of  the 
Catholic  youth  from  their  divinely-appointed  guardians  and  instruc- 
tors— the  Catholic  prelates — and  transferring  it  to  purely  secular  and 
ministerial  ofBcials. 

"Fourthly.  We  object  to  it  because  it  violates  the  law  of  nature, 
by  giving  to  the  president  of  each  of  these  academies  the  legal  privi- 
lege of  allocating  the  students  where  he  pleases,  against  the  natural 
and  inalienable  rights  of  their  parents,  whose  duty  it  is  to  provide 
them  with  proper  lodgings,  and  place. them  under  the  vigilant  super- 
intendence of  persons  identified  with  them  in  religious  feeling  and 
principle. 

"  Fifthly.  We  object  to  it,  because  whilst  Trinity  College,  enriched 
by  the  foul  spoliation  of  our  plundered  abbeys  and  Catholic  fore&v- 
thers,  is  to  remain  under  the  sole  superintendence  of  the  Protestant 


I'Ati 


116 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


EpiaoopallaQ  Church  ia  Ireland,  and  whilst  tho  UUter  College  Is  to  be 
connected  with  the  Belfast  Academical  Institution,  over  which  Prcsby^ 
terlan  synods  have  the  preponderating,  if  not  exclusive  control,  tho 
Parliament  of  England  injures  and  insults  the  Catholic  Ix'uy,  com- 
prising the  overwhelming  mi\jority  of  the  Irish  nation,  by  refusing  to 
place  the  colleges  to  be  erected  for  the  use  of  tho  Catholic  community 
under  the  protection  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  in  utter  disregard  of 
the  almost  unanimously  expressed  feelings  and  wishes  of  the  Catholic 
clergy  and  Catholic  people  of  Ireland. 

"  Lastly.  We  ol^ect  to  it,  because  experience  has  taught  us  that  the 
continental  models  on  which  it  was  designed  and  formed  are  the  nur- 
series of  infidelity,  in  which  religion  is  a  by-word,  Christianity  an  ab- 
surdity, the  science  of  the  material  preferred  to  the  science  of  the 
spiritual  world,  and  the  flickerings  of  a  demented  reason  to  tho  re- 
vealed knowledge  of  God  and  his  divine  dispensation. 

"A  good  educational  system  we  would  hail  as  the  greatest  boon  from 
Heaven  to  our  country — such  a  system  as  would  afford  secular  know- 
ledge its  full  development,  combined  with  sound  instruction  In  religious 
principles — a  system  that  would  form  the  Christian  and  tho  scholar, 
but  a  system  still  that  would  give  the  knowledge  of  God  and  man  the 
first  place,  and  to  purely  human  sciences  that  subordinate  station 
which  even  the  very  pagans,  guided  by  the  light  of  reason,  justly  as- 
signed to  Ihcm. 

"  Believing  that  a  simple  protest  against  the  contemplated  system 
of  academic  Instruction  would  be  as  foolish  as  It  would  be  unprofitable, 
if  the  Catholic  clergy  and  people  rested  there,  and  did  not  evince  their 
readiness  to  provide  for  the  Catholic  youth  such  a  system  as  conscience 
sanctions  and  the  times  require,  we,  the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  diocese 
of  Derry,  pledge  ourselves  to  co-operate  with  the  Irish  priesthood  and 
people,  to  the  utmost  limit  of  our  humble  means,  towards  the  estab- 
lishment of  provincial  academies,  where  the  faith  and  morals  of  the 
rising  generation  shall  be  secured  against  the  inroads  of  infidelity, 
where  religious  instruction  shall  be  zealously  and  ei&clently  promoted, 
and  human  knowledge  be  afforded  its  widest  range  ;  where  the  name 
of  Ireland  shall  receive  all  due  respect  and  honor  ;  where,  in  a  word, 
the  records  of  her  ancient  fame,  her  wrongs,  her  trials,  her  persecu- 
tions and  patience,  shall  be  fearlessly  evolved,  read  and  taugut ;  and 
where,  next  to  the  love  of  God  and  his  revealed  truth,  the  love  of 
country  shall  be  deeply  and  indelibly  engraven  on  the  heart  and  mind 


f  I 


1    'fm  ^'  lyy^wnfTi 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  HAOIKN. 


117 


of  the  Irlflh  itndent.  [Here  follow  the  slgnatnrei  of  tweDty-nlne  Irish 
priests  a&u  forty-nine  oarate»— the  whole  olergy  of  the  diocese  except 
eight.] 


The  ministry  of  Lord  John  Russell  which  succeeded 

Sir  Robert  Peel'i  in  June,  1846,  adopted  with  zeal  and 

clung  with  tenacity  to  his  Academical  scheme.  The 
same  month  an  event  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 

Catholic  world — the  death  of  a  Pope — took  place.  Greg- 
ory XVI.,  raised  to  the  Pontificate  in  February,  1831, 
was  in  his  66th  year,  and  had  nearly  completed  the  16th 
year  of  his  reign.  During  his  time,  the  Church  of  Ire- 
land had  risen  from  civil  subjection  to  the  Protestant 
state,  to  possess  power  in  the  empire,  and  reputation 
throughout  Europe.  He  was  familiar  with  its  long 
struggles  to  reach  that  position,  without  sacrifice  of  prin- 
ciples, and  he  cherished  an  affection  for  the  Island  of 
Saints,  enlightened  and  increased  by  the  remembrance  of 
what  he  had  heard  and  known  during  his  cardinalate. 
Pope  Gregory  expired  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  Cardinal 
Mastai-Feretti  was  elected  his  successor  on  the  16th,  and 
enthroned  on  the  21st.  On  that  day  began  a  Pontificate 
which  will  be  memorable  throughout  all  climes  and 
times,  not  only  for  great  events,  but  for  the  greatest  of 
modern  events  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception.  At  its  outset  the  world  feigned  to 
lie  down  and  lick  the  feet  of  the  Pontiff,  but  all  the  while 
it  was  busy  conspiring  to  undermine  his  throne  and  to 


V 


118 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN". 


overturn  his  authority.  Hollow  professions  of  attach- 
ment were  poured  forth  by  worldlings  and  progression- 
ists, mistaking  the  zeal  of  a  new  and  vigorous  ruler  for 
an  homage  paid  to  their  theories.  But  soon  came  a 
change ;  a  storm  sprung  up  darkening  the  fair  face  of 
Italy,  and  saddening  all  hearts  throughout  Christendom  J 
a  storm  in  which  Ireland  saw  her  hereditary  oppressor 
playing  Prospero's  part,  not  concealing  his  design  of  en- 
gulphing  in  the  general  wreck,  the  liberties  and  tho 
prospects  of  the  Irish  Church. 

The  first  Episcopal  Synod,  held  in  Ireland  under  the 
pontificate  of  Pious  IX.,  and  the  first  in  which  Dr.  Ma- 
ginn  sat,  assembled  in  the  Presbytery,  Marlborough -street, 
Dublin,  on  the  10th  of  November,  '46,  and  adjourned  on 
the  14th.  It  was  the  most  important  meeting  in  the 
variety  and  importance  of  the  business  transacted,  which 
had  been  held  for  many  years.  All  the  Bishops  were 
present  but  two.  The  decision  of  the  Holy  See  on  the 
Queen's  Colleges  had  not  then  been  received,  so  that  no 
new  step  was  taken  in  that  matter.  A  petition  to  Par- 
liament was  unanimously  agreed  to,  "  for  such  changes  in 
the  Bequests  Act  as  would  render  that  statute — ^now  so 
obnoxious — acceptable  to  the  Prelates,  Clergy  and  People 
of  Ireland ;"  the  repeal  of  the  Mortmain  clause  was  es- 
pecially asked  for.  Such  alterations  in  the  Marriage 
Act  of  1844,  as  would  relieve  the  Catholic  Clergy  from 
penalties  incurred  by  marrying  a  Protestant  and  Catho- 


LITE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


119 


from 
Catho- 


lic, were  the  subject  of  another  petition.  A  third  was 
on  behalf  of  the  children  of  Catholic  soldiers,  and  the 
soldiers  themselves,  asking  that  they  might  not  be  com- 
pelled, under  the  army  orders  of  1844,  to  attend  Protest- 
ant schools  or  Protestant  worship,  or  read  the  Protestant 
version  of  the  Scriptures ;  that  the  Douay  Bible  should  be 
given  them  instead,  and  liberty  to  attend  at  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  on  Sundays  and  holidays  of  obliga- 
tion. The  Vicars  Apostolic  ofEngland  and  Scotland  sub- 
sequently signed  this  memorial,  but  though  its  prayer  has 
since  been  frequently  renewed,  it  has  not  yet  been  granted. 
An  address  to  Pius  IX.,  to  be  signed  by  all  the  clergy 
of  Ireland,  was  also  ordered,  and  committed  to  the  hands 
of  a  committee  in  Dublin,  but  we  find  Dr.  Maginn  com- 
plaining in  a  letter  to  Dr.  MacHale,  the  following  Sep- 
tember, that  these  parties  had  "  altogether  neglected"  it, 
thereby  causing  the  proposers,  "  to  cut  but  a  poor  figure 
at  Eome."  He  was  naturally  impatient  at  this  dis- 
heartening delay. 

•'It  would  have  been  mnch  better  had  your  Grace,  who  could  have 
done  these  matters  so  well,  not  allowed  a  task  of  such  high  moment  to 
pass  into  other  hands,  either  incapable  or  unwilling  to  act,  when  your 
own  ever  ready  resources  could  be  largely  drawn  upon  to  meet  this  or 
any  other  emergency.  I  have  had  letters  lately  from  Rome,  stating 
that  there  is  much  surprise  theie  at  our  silence,  or  rather  at  the  silence 
of  the  Irish  nation,  including  both  clergy  and  people.  The  general 
expression  of  our  gratitude  for  favors  received  at  His  Holiness'  hands, 
the  strong  attestation  of  our  sympathy  in  his  present  sufferings,  the 
testimony  of  our  marked  indignation  against  the  sacrilegious  aggressors 
of  his  rights,  are  the  very  least  gifts  we  could  offer  him,  beset  as  he  is 


120 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


;;j-V 


by  enemies,  foreign  and  domestic.  It  would  be  well  (I  say  it  with  all 
due  deference)  were  your  grace,  without  further  waiting  for  the  Dublin 
concoction,  to  come  out  with  a  form  of  address  for  Catholic  Ireland, 
breathing  your  wonted  fire  and  eloquence — with  your  very  soul  in 
every  word,  to  be  subscribed  to  by  us  all  and  sent  off  in  all  haste,  to 
console  him  in  his  difficulties  and  to  encourage  him  to  present  a  bold 
front  to  the  encroachments  of  the  Austrian  infidel.  I  think  you  may 
offer  him,  in  the  names  of  the  Irish  Catholic  clergy  and  people,  their 
hearts,  their  hands,  their  all.  If  to  die  for  our  country  be  a  beautiful 
duty,  it  cannot  be  less  delightful,  were  it  necessary,  to  risk  life  and  all 
to  preserve  the  chair  of  Peter  intact,  and  Rome,  endeared  to  us  by  a 
thousand  recollections,  the  anchorage  of  Christian  hope,  the  sacred 
centre  of  Christian  unity — inviolate.  Whatever  is  to  be  done  should  be 
done  speedily,  and  by  none  other  will  it  be  done  if  your  grace  omit  to 
do  it.  We  live  in  truly  awful  times,  and  charity  must  indeed  be  cold 
upon  the  earth  when  Catholic  Christendom  can  stand  with  folded  arms 
and  look  on  tamely  and  unresistingly  whilst  the  Redeemer  of  the  world 
is  outraged  in  the  person  of  his  Vicar,  and  attempts  are  being  made  by 
a  hoary  diplomatic  Judas  to  strip  the  chair  of  the  fisherman,  of  rights 
hallowed  by  centuries  and  consecrated  by  the  dearest  interests  of  piety 
and  religion.  The  day  was  when  a  St.  Bernard  or  a  Peter  the  Hermit 
would,  with  words  of  fire,  have  convulsed  Europe  and  gathered  around 
the  guilty  heads  of  the  ruthless  invaders  the  accumulated  vengeance 
of  every  follower  of  the  cross,  from  the  Danube  to  the  Shannon." 

We  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter,  how  thorough  he 
felt  that  veneration  and  love  for  Eome,  which  he  thus 
endeavored  to  demonstrate  on  a  national  scale,  and  which 
he  did  so  much  during  his  short  episcopate,  to  feed  and 
foster  in  the  hearts  of  his  people. 


CHAPTER  VI 


th  he 
thus 
rhich 

Id  and 


PONTIFICATE  OF  PIUS  IX. — ENGLISH  INTRIGUES  IW  ITALY — LORD 
MINTO'S  MISSION — LORD  SHREWSBURY'S  VISIT  TO  ROME — LORD 
clarendon's  PROPOSITION  TO  ARCHBISHOP  MURRAY— THE  IRISH 
BISHOPS  OPPOSED  TO  TOE  GOVERNMENT  SCHEME  OF  ACADEMICAL 
EDUCATION,  SEND  TWO  OF  THEIR  NUMBER  TO  ROME — THE  AGENTS 
AND  INFLUENCES  EMPLOYED  AGAINST  THEM— SUCCESS  OF  THE 
'  MISSION  OF  DRS.  MACHALB  AND  o'hIGGINS — DR.  MAGINN's  PART  Of 
IT— INSURRECTION  IN  ROME — THE  POPE  IN  EXILE— ELOQUENT  PAS- 
TORAL OF  DR.  MAGINN  ON  THAT  EVENT — ITS  RECEPTION  AT  ROME, 
AND   BY  THE   HOLY  FATHER. 

"We  have  now  to  take  a  glance  at  the  diplomacy  of 
the  Irish  Church,  as  opposed  to  the  Protestant  state,  and 
the  part  our  suV)ject  was  called  upon  to  bear  in  it. 

The  accession  of  Pius  IX.  to  the  Pontificate  and  the 
first  political  acts  of  his  reign  were  received  with  loud 
acclamations  by  the  British  press  and  people.  One  of 
his  first  acts  was  an  amnesty  to  political  offenders,  grant- 
ed on  the  sole  condition  that  they  should  not  "  abuse 
this  act  of  sovereign  clemency"  by  undertaking  there- 
after anything  against  the  State.  This  amnesty  seems 
to  have  been  accepted  by  the  majority  if  not  all  of  those 


122 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


■who  availed  themselves  of  it  in  anything  but  good  faith. 
They  made  their  very  professions  of  attachment  to  the 
Holy  Father  occasions  for  marshalling  and  drilling  their 
demagogic  forces.  They  began  by  mingling  cries  of 
reform  with  their  "vivas,"  and  proceeded  to  threaten 
the  ministers,  the  cardinals,  and  especially  the  Jesuits. 
Secret  societies,  those  nurseries  of  every  anti-social  vice, 
undermined  the  Eternal  City,  and  had  their  spies  and 
tools  about  the  very  person  of  the  Pontiff.  Brunetti, 
Sterbini,  and  other  chiefs  of  these  sons  of  darkness,  were 
the  real  rulers  of  Rome,  and  merely  tolerated  Pius  IX., 
until  their  conspiracy  was  complete.  The  rising  of  Sicily 
against  Neapolitan  oppression,  the  insurrections  of  the 
Lombard  cities  against  their  Austrian  garrisons,  the  pro- 
pagandism  of  Gioberti  and  Mazzini — causes  good,  bad, 
and  diabolical — were  all  at  work  to  throw  the  peninsula 
into  ferment  and  confusion. 

This  state  of  affairs  presented  to  Lord  John  Russell 
and  Lord  Palmerston  too  tempting  a  field  for  intrigue 
to  be  left  unoccupied.  The  panegyrics  of  their  press  and 
their  parliamentary  orators  on  the  Pope  as  a  reformer, 
were  preliminary  to  their  experiments  on  the  Pope  as  Head 
of  the  Church.  The  embassy  at  Florence  was  the  cover 
^  for  the  first  approaches,  and  as  the  dangers  of  the  Papal 
government  began  to  excite  the  hopes  and  fears  of  friends 
and  enemies.  Lord  Minto,  father-in-law  to  the  British 
Prime  Minister,  was  sent  on  a  special  secret  mission, 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


123 


nominally  to  all  the  Italian  States,  but  principally  to 
Eome.    The  alarm  as  to  this  mission  was  communicated 
to  the   Irish    Hierarchy  by   an  English  Prelate — Dr. 
Briggs,  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Beverly.    Of  all  the 
hierarchy  of  the  imperial  inland,  he  was  the  most  con- 
stant in  his  friendship  for  tne  sister  nation.     Towards 
the  close  of  the  year  '47,  the  visits  of  Lord  Minto  to 
Rome  became  known,  and  on  the  16th  of  December, 
Lord  Lansdowne,  in  reply  to  a  question  in  *;he  House 
of  Lords,  indicated  very  significantly  the  objects  of  that 
mission.     "  My  Lords,"  he  said,  "  I  believe  there  is  no 
court  in  Europe  in  which  it  would  be  more  useful  for 
the  British  Government  to  explain  the  nature  of  our 
transactions,  or  to  induce  that  court  to  use  its  peculiar 
sources  of  influence  in  certain  parts  of  Her  Majesty's  domi- 
nions.^^   Immediately  on  the  appearsmce  of  this  declara- 
tion, Dr.  Briggs  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  l\     Bishops 
of  Ireland,  proposing  that  they  should  join  the  Prelates 
of  England  and  Scotland  in  a  memorial  to  His  Holiness, 
setting  forth  the  true  relations  and  intentions  of  the  civil 
government  to  the  Church,  and  preventing  false  impres- 
sions from  being  produced  or  ex  parte  suggestions  adopted 
at  Rome.   At  the  same  time  the  English  Bishops  appoint- 
ed the  Rev.  Dr.  Grant  (since  Bishop  of  Southwark)  their 
agent  at  Rome,  while  the  Rev.  Dr.  CuUen,  the  present 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  discharged  similar  duties  for  the 
Irish  Hierarchy.    The  joint  memorial  proposed  by  Dr. 


124 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


Briggs,  was  duly  signed  and  sent,  and  forwarded  to  the 
Pope  by  Dr.  Grant,  "  through  the  proper  ecclesiastical 
channel." 

The  Academical  Education  Act,  as  at  first  proposed, 
had  been  condemned  at  Eome  in  1847,  and  the  Hierarchy 
recommended  to  undertake,  in  imitation  of  Belgium,  a 
Catholic  university.  The  Prelates  who  opposed  it  through- 
out, rested  content  with  their  victory,  many  sinking  into 
apathy  towards  all  public  affairs.  The  fearful  famine  of 
that  year  occupied  almost  exclusively  the  attention  of 
the  Episcopal  Synod,  which  assembled  in  October.  The 
Irish  government,  at  the  head  of  which  was  now  placed 
the  astute  Lord  Clarendon,  seemed  to  suffer  the  public 
discussion  to  drop,  but  the  college  buildings  at  Belfast,  at 
Cork  and  at  Galway,  gradually  went  up.  It  was  appa- 
rent that,  though  baffled,  the  ministers  did  not  consider 
themselves  beaten,  and  looked  forward  to  a  renewal  of 
their  struggle  with  the  Bishops.  Lord  Minto's  mission 
naturally  awakened  anew  the  anxieties  of  the  latter,  es- 
pecially when  it  was  found  that  Lord  Shrewsbury,  a 
supposed  favorer  of  the  college  scheme,  and  a  person  of 
the  greatest  influence  at  Rome,  appeared  simultaneously 
in  the  Eternal  City.  This  conjunction  of  influences  pro- 
duced one  effect ;  a  letter  from  Cardinal  Fransoni  to  the 
Irish  Bishops  recommending  moderation  and  unity — ^thus 
apparently  censuring  their  previous  line  of  conduct.  Dr. 
Crolly,  Dr.  Murray,  and  their  friends  chose  to  interpret 


LIFE  OP  BIGHT  BEV.   EDWABD   MAGINN". 


125 


this  "  admonitory  document"  into  an  approbation  of 
their  views,  and  their  interpretation  was  ostentatiously 
paraded  in  the  government  organs,  the  World  and  Even' 
ing  Post. 

A  new  combination  of  hopes  and  influences  was  now 
suddenly  brought  about  by  the  French  revolution  of 
February,  1848.  The  sudden  inflation  of  Young  Ireland, 
and  the  threatening  aspect  of  English  and  foreign  affairs, 
obliged  the  viceregal  administration  to  make  fresh  con- 
cessions and  advances  to  the  Hierarchy.  On  the  19th  of 
March,  1848,  Lord  Clarendon  addressed  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin  the  following  extraordinary  letter,  a 
copy  of  which  found  its  way  into  the  press,  and  created 
the  liveliest  sensation  throughout  the  kingdom. 


COFr  OF  THE  LETTER  OF  LORD  CLARENDON. 

(Private.) 

Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Dublin : 

My  dear  Lord, — ^Your  Grace  hud  the  goodness  to  promise  me  thai 
you  would  convey  to  Rome,  for  the  consideration  of  the  Pope,  (he 
Amended  Statutes  of  the  Queen's  Colleges  in  Ireland,  as  the  British 
Government  has  no  ofBcial  organ  of  communication  with  the  Holy 
See'. 

I  was  happy  of  having  the  opportunity  to  consult  your  Grace  before 
any  alteration  was  made,  because,  as  a  Catholic  Prelate,  you  well 
knew  what  guarantees  and  provisions  were  requisite  for  ensuring  re- 
ligious instruction  to  the  Catholic  youths  who  might  frequeit  those 
colleges,  and  I  was  anxious  that  such  securities  should  be  given  with 
the  most  entire  good  faith,  and  in  a  manner  perfectly  satisfactory  to 
the  Irish  Prelates,  who,  like  yourself  desired  to  sec  the  true  interests 
of  morality  and  the  Catholic  religion  promoted  by  these  new  Institu- 
tioiis. 

I  regret  very  much  the  delay  that  has  taken  place  in  the  revision 


-"-^''-WZuSSl 


126 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


of  the  statutes  ;  but  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  the  attention  of  the 
Government  was  last  year  wholly  devoted  to  alleviating  the  calamity 
with  which  it  was  the  will  of  Providence  that  this  country  should  be 
visited ;  moreover,  this  delay  was  of  no  importance,  as  the  colleges 
will  not  be  ready  for  occupation  before  the  end  of  the  year  1849. 

The  whole  of  the  statutes  are  at  your  disposal  now  or  at  any  future 
period,  that  your  Grace  or  any  other  Bishop  may  wish  to  see  them ; 
but  as  they  are  very  voluminous,  and  relate  entirely  to  the  course  of 
instruction  and  the  duties  of  the  different  ofiBcera  of  the  colleges,  I 
propose  at  present  only  to  trouble  you  with  the  religious  portion  of 
them. 

Accordingly  I  herewith  send  all  that  part  of  the  statutes  which 
affect,  as  to  religious  points,  both  professors  and  students,  as  well  as 
an  extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Board  with  reference  to  religious 
instruction. 

The  list  of  visitors  is  not  yet  settled,  but  I  can  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  it  will  include  the  Catholic  Archbishop  of  the  province, 
and  Bishop  of  the  diocese  in  which  the  college  is  situated,  and  that, 
moreover,  in  the  council,  professorships  and  other  posts  of  each  col- 
lege, the  Catholic  religion  will  always  be  fully  and  appropriately  rep- 
resented ;  for  these  colleges  are  instituted  for  the  education  of  the 
middle  classes,  and  the  government  would  fail  in  its  object  of  training 
np  the  youth  ot  Ireland  to  be  good  men  and  loyal  subjects,  if  their  re- 
ligious instruction  and  moral  conduct  were  not  duly  provided  for  and 
guarded  by  every  precaution  that  the  most  anxious  solicitude  can  de- 
vise. 

As  I  entertain  a  profound  veneration  for  the  character  of  the  Pope, 
and  implicitly  rely  upon  his  upright  judgment,  it  is  with  pleasure  that 
I  now  ask  your  Grace  to  submit  these  statutes  to  the  consideration^of 
his  Holiness,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  they  may  be  advantageously  com- 
pared with  those  of  any  other  similar  institution  in  Europe,  and  that 
by  exhibiting  the  cnre  and  the  good  faith  with  which  they  have  been 
framed,  they  will  furnish  a  simple  but  conclusive  answer  to  those  mis- 
representations which  have  been  so  industriously  circulated,  and  which, 
if  they  had  been  founded  in  truth,  would  have  justly  excited  the  alarm 
and  called  forth  the  reprobation  of  His  Holiness. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  esteem,  my  dear  lord. 
Your  Grace's  very  faithful  servant, 

Clarendon. 
To  His  Grace  Archbishop  Murray,  of  Dublin. 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINX. 


127 


Several  weeks  before  the  appearance  of  this  letter  of 
Lord  Clarendon's,  and  perhaps  as  an  improvement  on 
Dr.  Briggs'  proposal,  Dr.  Maginn  had  circulated  among 
his  correspondents  the  suggestion  of  a  deputation   to 
Borne,  and  at  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  Bishops  and 
Clergy  in  Dublin,  early  in  February,  Dr.  O'Higgins  had 
been  persuaded  to  act  as  one  of  the  deputation.    At  that 
time  Dr.  MacHale  positively  declined,  but  after  the  ap- 
pearance of  Lord  Clarendon's  letter  he  consented.    Both 
were  anxious  to  have  Dr.  Maginn's  company,  but  the 
poverty  of  his  diocese,  and  the  pressure  of  its  long  ac- 
cumulating cares  prevented  his  acceptance.     The  two 
patriot  Bishops  started  after  Easter,  and  on  the  12th  of 
April  Dr.  O'Higgins  writes  in  high  spirits,  from  Mar- 
seilles, that  they  had  arrived  safely  the  previous  night, 
were  to  leave  next  day  for  Civita  Vecchia,  and  hoped  to 
be  in  Rome  by  the  following  Sunday  afternoon.     He 
pays  a  high  compliment  to  Mr.  Lucas  of  the  Tablet,  with 
whom  they  had  dined  in  London,  on  the  way,  and  who 
is  pronounced  by  Dr.  O'Higgins  to  be  "  real  gold."  The 
abettors  of  the  government  among  the  English  and  Irish 
clergy — and  truth  compels  us  to  confess  it — were  not  less 
energetic.     Among  them  at  that  time,  one  reads  with 
deep  regret  the  illustrious  name  of  "Wiseman,   whose 
personal  treatment  at  their  hands,  a  few  years  later,  was 
but  a  new  illustration  of  the  old  maxim,  "  put  not  your 
trust  in  princes."    Acting  with  Dr.  Wiseman,  and  ap- 


128 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


i  f  :■ 


parentlj  under  him  was  Dr.  Nicholson,  Archbishop  of 
Corfu,  the  British  capital  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  whose 
annual  income  was  derived  from  the  British  treasury 
The  Irish  Hierarchy  beheld  with  special  indignation  tho 
intermeddling  of  this  foreign  dignitary  in  their  domestic 
al&irSi  and  loudly  complained  of  his  officiousness  to  the 
Soman  authorities.  The  Bev.  Dr.  Ennis,  a  highly  re- 
spectable Parish  Priest  of  the  diocese  of  Dublin,  reached 
Rome  early  in  May,  to  represent  the  views  and  wishes 
of  Dr.  Murray  and  the  minority  of  the  Bishops.  Thus  there 
were  present,  knocking  at  the  gates  of  the  Propaganda, 
representatives  of  all  classes  of  British  and  Irish  Catho- 
lics, as  well  as  of  the  civil  government  of  the  empire, 
each  hanging  with  breathless  suspense  on  the  lips  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff.  The  college  question  was  the  one  then 
uppermost,  but  it  was  plainly  one  of  a  series;  had  the  civil 
power  succeeded  in  that,  farther  encroachments  on  the 
independence  of  the  Church  would  have  inevitably  fol- 
lowed ;  hence,  the  wisdom  of  those  who  defended  so  des- 
perately that  first  fortress  on  the  line  of  attack.  It  is  an 
inspiriting  and  a  glorious  sight  to  see  the  Irish  Bishops 
checkmate  and  defeat  at  Rome,  to  the  edification  of  all 
Christendom,  the  wiliest  plans  of  British  diplomacy.  In 
the  natural  order  they  were  the  sons  of  peasants ;  with- 
out any  other  wealth  than  the  free-will  offerings  of  their 
flocks ;  theologically  educated  indeed,  but  all  untrained 
in  those  courtly  arts  by  which  even  the  good  cause  is 


i 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


129 


often  best  served ;  against  them  were  the  Russells,  the 
Temples,  the  Elliotts,  men  in  whose  houses  the  lessons 
of  diplomacy  were  taught  from  earliest  youth ;  men  who 
could  speak  with  all  the  authority  of  the  greatest  modern 
empire ;  men  who  had  grown  grey  and  historical  in  the 
management  of  public  affairs.  And  the  Judges  of  this 
appeal  were  worthy  to  decide  any  cause.  The  new  Pope, 
the  very  impersonation  of  benignity,  charity  and  justice ; 
the  profound  Lambruschini,  the  beneficent  Gizzi,  tho 
venerable  Fransoni,  the  sagacious  Antonelli,  were  among 
his  High  Officers  of  State.  Before  these  illustrious  men 
and  their  colleagues,  the  case  of  the  Irish  Church  against 
the  British  Government,  of  freedom  of  education  against 
the  intellectual  despotism  of  state  control,  came  in  a  form 
of  appeal  demanding  decision,  in  the  troubled  and  mo« 
mentous  year  of  1848. 

Rome  is  proverbially  slow.  The  Church,  says  De  Mais- 
tre  somewhere,  being  for  all  time,  is  never  in  a  hurry— 
or  some  such  expression.  The  various  parties  to  the 
appeal  were  detained  in  Rome,  or  came  and  went,  from 
April  till  October.  In  this  interval  Dr.  Maginn,  Dr. 
McNally  and  Dr.  Cantwell,  seem  to  have  had  the  man- 
agement of  "  the  home  department"  of  the  opposition. 
Dr.  Maginn  especially  was  the  "  chief  secretary"  through- 
out this  business.  In  the  spring  and  early  summer,  while 
engaged  in  a  visitation  of  his  diocese,  during  which  he 

confirmed  about  6,000  souls,  he  found  time  for  letter  after 
6* 


180 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


letter,  to  the  authorities  and  the  Irish  agents  at  Rome. 
In  one  of  his  Latin  letters  to  Cardinal  Fransoni,  he  gave 
with  his  usual  energy,  a  character  of  Dr.  Nicholson,  which 
was  supposed  to  have  some  effect  in  procuring  the  order 
for  that  dignitary  to  withdraw  from  Rome  to  his  own 
diocese.  Writing  in  May,  to  the  Bishop  of  Clogher,  Dr. 
Maginn  expresses  great  pleasure  at  the  result  of  that 
skirmish.  "  I  gave  the  Cardinal  in  my  last  letter,"  he 
says,  "  an  account  of  that  gentleman,  which  may  have 
done  some  service  in  the  way  of  having  him  ordered 
home  to  mind  his  own  business."  The  contest  proceeded 
during  six  months  with  various  fortunes.  A  pamphlet 
printed  in  the  Eternal  City,  containing  some  extracts 
from  extreme  speeches  or  writings  of  the  Patriot  Bish- 
ops— especially  the  two  who  were  in  Rome — was  indus- 
triously circulated.  A  sharp  correspondence  between 
Dr.  MacHale  and  Lord  Shrewsbui  /  nnd  a  formal  com- 
plaint  of  Mr.  J.  R.  Corballis,  of  the  Bequests  and  Educa- 
tion Boards,  were  also  presented  to  the  prejudice  of 
their  cause.  Against  these  Dr.  Brigg's  address  and  Dr. 
Maginn's  powerful  letters,  were  chiefly  relied  on.  In 
May,  Dr.  O'Higgins  wrote  in  sanguine  spirits  to  the 
Bishop  of  Clogher ;  in  June  the  prospect  was  thought 
to  be  gloomy ;  finally.  Dr.  O'Higgins  wrote  on  the  14th 
of  September  to  Dr.  Maginn :  "  we  have  at  length  left 
our  final  expose  in  print,  with  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals. 
The  case  will  be  discussed  on  the  25th  of  this  month,  in 


I 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   KDWAUD   MAOINN. 


131 


of 

Dr. 

Iq 

the 
ight 


a  full  congregation,  and  the  opinions  of  their  eminences 
will  bo  laid  before  the  Pope  on  the  following  Sunday."* 
Accordingly,  on  the  expected  day,  the  Pope  issued  his  re- 
scrij^t  to  the  Irish  Prelates,  renewing  the  condemnation 
of  the  Queen's  colleges,  exhorting  them  to  erect  a  Catholic 
university,  as  the  Belgians  had  done  at  Louvaine,  directing 
that  the  meetings  of  the  Prelates  should  be  held  in  due 
synodical  form,  and  requiring  accurate  reports  of  the 
state  of  each  diocese.  On  the  10th  of  November,  the 
Primate  communicated  the  substance  of  these  documents 
to  Bishop  Maginn,  who  seized  on  the  occasion  with  his 
usual  quickness  of  perception. 

"  I  wrote  him,"  he  reports  to  Dr.  MoNiilly,  •*  in  reply  to  hia  favor,  % 
rather  ingenious  letter,  in  which  I  oongratulated*hini  and  the  body  on 
the  prospect  of  perfect  union  of  mind  and  purpose  among  us  for  the 
future.  I  insinuated  the  powerful  effect  it  would  produce  upon  the 
sectaries ;  the  beneficial  influence  it  would  have  upon  religion  and 
country,  were  his  Grace  to  give  his  public  approval  of  the  decision  of 
the  Holy  S'  by  his  laying  in  person  amid  the  assembled  prelacy  and 
people  the  foundation  stone  of  our  new  university.  You  will,  I  am 
Bur.,  be  surprised  to  hear — agreeably  surprised  to  hear — that  his  Grace 
has  consented,  as  soon  as  we  can  have  the  plans  of  our  new  university 
arranged,  not  only  to  assist  at  laying  but  to  lay,  in  propria  persona  et 
propriit  manibua,  its  foundation  stone." 

"  This,"  he  adds,  "  I  think  is  a  victory  enhancing  the  triumph  at 
Rome,  and  which  will  be  the  occasion  of  spreading  consternation  among 
our  enemies." 

Although  Dr.  Maginn  did  not  live  to  see  the  actual 
commencement  of  that  great  work  of  which  he  had  been 

♦  For  this  and  Dr.  Maginn's  other  Roman  correspondence,  see  Ap- 
pendix. 


182 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


f 


SO  early  and  so  judicious  an  advocate,  it  is  due  to  his 
memory  to  give  this  extract — though  evidently  thrown 
off  in  a  moment  of  private  confidence — as  entitling  him 
to  be  reckoned  among  the  founders  of  the  Catholio 
University  of  Ireland. 

"While  these  affairs  were  occupying  all  minds  in  Ire- 
land, the  position  of  the  Holy  Father,  who  had  thus 
rescued  the  cause  of  Catholio  education  from  imminent 
danger,  was  becoming  daily  more  intolerable  at  Home. 
During  the  very  days  when  the  Irish  Church  was  exulting 
over  its  great  deliverance,  the  august  Pontiff  had  to  be- 
hold the  assassination  of  Count  Rossi,  his  minister,  and 
of  Monseigneur  Palma,  one  of  his  secretaries.  He  himself 
remained  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  radical  faction, 
from  the  15th  of  Navember.  His  faithful  Swiss  were 
dismissed,  and  the  Civic  Guard,  the  creatures  of'the  dem- 
agogue Sterbini,  became  his  jailors.  On  the  evening  of 
the  24th,  assisted  by  the  Duke  d'Harcourt,  ambassador 
of  France,  and  the  Count  Spaur,  ambassador  of  Bavaria, 
he  escaped  from  the  Quirinal,  in  the  disguise  of  an  at- 
tache of  the  Bavarian  embassy,  under  the  title  of  "  doc- 
tor,"  and  in  a  few  hours  was  safely  lodged  in  Gaeta.  On 
the  16tli  of  July  following,  his  authority  was  restored  in 
Rome  by  the  French,  under  General  Oudinot.  His  exile, 
therefore,  may  be  said  to  have  lasted  precisely  eight 
months.* 

*  For  some  interesting  details  of  these  events,  consult  Dr.  Callen' 
letter  in  the  Appendix. 


LIFfi  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


183 


The  Bishop  of  Deny,  duly  informed  of  all  that  took 
place  at  Borne,  rose  from  a  sick  bed  on  the  intelligence 
of  the  Pope's  flight  reaching  Ireland,  to  prepare  that 
pastoral  letter,  which  of  itself  would  embalm  his  memory 
in  the  undying  charity  of  all  Catholic  hearts.  Hitherto 
he  had  addressed  Bome  on  the  wrongs  of  Ireland — now  he 
was  to  address  Ireland  on  the  wrongs  of  Bome.  And 
not  only  Ireland ;  for,  since  the  admission  of  the  Catho- 
lics to  civil  rights  in  the  British  empire,  it  is  the  privilege 
of  the  Irish  Church  to  make  her  notes  of  challenge  or 
of  warning  heard  throughout  the  earth.  There  is,  per- 
haps, no  division  of  the  Church  militant  whose  word  goes 
so  far  or  strikes  so  deep.  Her  great  living  writers  know 
this  well ;  her  Doyles  and  her  Maginns  also  proved  it  in 
their  day.  We  have  seen  in  Boman  newspapers  long 
extracts  from  the  letters  to  Lord  Stanley ;  the  Paris, 
Belgian,  American  and  Catholic  journals  spread  the 
sentiments  conceived  in  the  quiet  cottage  at  Buncrana 
over  two  continents.  In  his  Pastoral  on  the  Pope's  exile. 
Dr.  Maginn  felt  the  height  of  his  position,  and  his  voice 
went  forth  with  immense  effect.  His  English  is  more 
smooth  and  compact  than  usual ;  his  high  heroic  spirit 
soars  above  the  orhis  in  urhis,  like  its  own  eagle,  with  an 
eye  that  penetrates  to  the  east  and  the  west,  to  the 
dawn  and  the  sunset,  through  ancient  days  and  modern 
events.* 


See  Appiendix  for  this  EpUtle  entire 


134 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  RKV.   EDWARD  MAGINN 


This  pastoral  conveyed  and  read  to  the  Holy  Father 
at  Gaeta  drew  forth  his  warmest  approbation.  A  pre- 
vious letter  of  the  Bishop's  received  before  His  Holiness* 
flight,  had  the  honor  of  a  direct  acknowledgment  from 
the  illustrious  obj  ect  of  it.*  It  is  hardly  too  much  to 
say  that  in  those  eventful  days  no  Irish  Prelate  stood 
higher  at  Kome  than  Dr.  Maginn,  and  that  the  personal 
influence  thus  honorably  obtained  promised  the  best  re- 
sults for  the  future  relations  of  the  Irish  Church  with 
the  Holy  See,  • 

*  See  Dr.  Cullen's  letter  of  September  6,  1848.    Appendix. 


CHAPTEE  YII. 

IKFLUEKCi  OF  THE  FAMINE  ON  PUBLIC  SPIRIT — DR.  MAGINN's   LETTERS 
ON  "  tenant-right" — HIS  LETTERS  TO   LORD  STANLEY — HIS   POPD 
LARITY — EFFECT   OF    THE    FRENCH  REVOLUTION  ON    IRELAND— PA- 
TRIOTIC   ATTEMPTS     TO    RE  UNITE    THE    NATIONAL    PARTIES— THE 
PROTESTANT  REPEALERS  AND  MR.  SHARMAN  CRAWFORD,  M.  P. — EX 
TRAORDINARY    CIRCULAR    OF     THE    EARL    OF     SHREWSBURY — THI 
YOUNG     IRELAND     CATASTROPHE — DR.    MAGINN's     CORRESPONDENCE 
WITH  THE   CASTLE   IN  RELATION   THERETO — HIS   SYMPATHY   WITH 
THE   DEFEATED  PARTY  AND  THE  STATE   PRISONERS. 

Nor  was  Dr.  Maginn's  attention  wholly  or  even  prin- 
cipally directed  to  Koman  affairs  and  English  intrigues, 

in  those  eventful  years  '47  and  '48.  The  condition  of 
the  poor,  the  distribution  of  the  charities  of  many  coun- 
tries, the  niggardliness  and  maladministration  of  the  gov- 
ernment grants,  the  stealthy  ravages  of  proselytism  fol- 
lowing famine  like  its  shadow — all  claimed  his  attention. 
It  was  in  this  year,  the  second  of  his  episcopacy,  that  by 
a  succession  of  public  services  to  the  country  and  religion, 
hk  talents  became  familiarly  known  and  widely  influen- 
tial. Of  these  we  shall  speak  in  the  order  of  time. 
After  O'Connell's  death,  and  the  second  general  failure 


186 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


of  the  potato  harvest,  social  questions  were  forced  upon 
the  Irish  mind  with  an  emphasis,  which  in  less  calamitous 
times,  would  have  been  quite  thrown  away  on  that  im- 
aginative and  immaterialist  nation.  The  question  of  the 
land,  superceded  "repeal"  in  the  hearts  of  most  men  not 
wholly  broken  down  by  the  pressure  of  the  times  and 
taxes.  An  ''Irish  Council"  to  promote  reproductive 
employment  on  the  soil,  taking  the  government  loan  as 
the  capital  and  improved  modes  of  cultivation  as  the 
method,  sat  regularly  in  Dublin.  It  contained  many 
patriotic  men  ;  Lord  Cloncurry,  Sir  Colman  O'Loghlen, 
Mr.  Butt,  Mr.  Duffy,  Mr.  O'Brien,  Mr.  Chetwode,  Mr. 
Monsell,  the  poet  Ferguson,  and  many  more.  Its  first 
meeting  had  been  attended  by  O'Connell,  who  soon  after 
made  a  last  mournful  plea  for  the  poor  in  Parliament,  and 
went  abroad  to  die.  The  Young  Ireland  party  endeavored 
to  become  practical,  and  began  to  study  in  statistics  and 
political  economy.  The  decaying  association  contributed 
its  slower  impulse  to  the  general  current  of  men's  minds. 
Tenant-right  meetings  were  held  in  Ulster ;  throughout 
the  North  generally,  a  fierce  agitation  sprung  up  in  op- 
position to  the  imposition  of  an  average  poor-rate  all 
over  the  island.  Sir  Kobert  Peel's  dictum  that  "the 
property  of  Ireland  should  be  made  to  support  the  pov- 
erty of  Ireland,"  was  looked  upon  by  the  industrious 
tenant  of  the  North  with  as  much  dislike  as  by  the  mort- 
gage-ridden squire  of  the  South.    They  both  held  that 


LITE  OP  RIGHT  RKV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


187 


the  calamity  being  imperial,  the  relief  ought  to  be  im- 
perial ;  that  the  taxation  of  each  union  should  be  rated 
according  to  its  internal  condition ;  that  employment  for 
labor,  and  legal  security  for  improvements  on  land,  was 
what  the  country  wanted,  not  alms  and  an  army  of  fresh 
officials.  These  discussions  certainly  turned  the  Irish 
mind  into  new  channels,  and  although  there  was  a  digres- 
sion to  revolutionary  experiments  in  '48,  that  mind  has 
ever  since,  it  seems  to  me,  kept  the  direction  the  famine 
gave  it. 

Dr.  Maginn,  gifted  with  the  intuitive  eye  of  a  wise 
patriot,  was  one  of  the  first  in  the  new  field  of  discus- 
sion. His  letters  to  the  Cork  Tenant  league,  to  Dr. 
McKnight  of  Derry,  and  to  James  Caufield,  Esq.,  were 
among  the  earliest  and  the  best  writings  on  the  land 
question.  Taken  in  connection  with  his  evidence  before 
the  Devon  Commission,  they  form  a  monument  of  in- 
formation and  observation  on  the  social  state  of  Ireland.* 

At  the  close  of  '47,  Dr.  Maginn  considered  himself 
called  upon  to  rebut  and  refute  in  a  series  of  letters  to 
Lord  Stanley,  an  intolerable  statement  made  by  that 
nobleman  in  his  place  in  Parliament  against  the  priest- 
hood of  Ireland.  The  words  spoken  on  the  23rd  of  No- 
vember, in  the  House  of  Lords,  were  these : 

"In  the  main," said  Lord  Stanley,  "I  think  the  Roman  Catholio 
priesthood  to  be  untiring  in  the  discharge  of  their  religious  duties,  de- 


.1: 


*  See  Appendix. 


188 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


voting  themselveB  to  their  faith,  and  sparing  neither  pains  nor  time  in 
the  due  performance  of  the  functions  of  their  holy  office.  But  J  must 
not  conceal  the  fact,  that  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood  of  Ireland  do 
not  lend  themselves  to  the  support  of  the  law.  There  is  a  fatal  breach 
between  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  and  the  law  ;  the  confessional  is 
conducted  with  a  degree  of  secretness,  and  carried  to  an  extent  dan- 
gerous alike  to  the  civil  government  and  the  peace  of  the  country.  The 
priest  conceals  the  secrets  of  the  guilty  penitent,  and  is  ever  ready  to 
denounce  the  informer.  Among  recent  instances  there  are  many  start- 
ling  proofs  of  the  knowledge  or  connivance  of  the  priesthood  in  the 
sanguinary  crimes  of  the  peasantry .** 

On  this  text,  Dr.  Magiun  wrote  those  three  right, 
manly,  and  eloquent  letters,  which  will  be  found  in  our 
Appendix,  under  the  title  "  Letters  to  Lord  Stanley."* 
Coming  out  immediately  after  his  brilliant  letters  on 
Tenant-right,  they  crowned  his  reputation  with  a  religious 
triumph,  and  made  him  almost  immediately,  after  Dr. 
MacHale,  the  most  popular  Bishop  in  the  Kingdom.  The 
name  of  Derry  became  familiar  where  it  had  long  sound- 
ed strange ;  it  was  gratefully  recognized  as  one  of  the 
popular  strongholds  of  the  Tenants'  cause;  everything 
that  bore  its  date  was  carefully  read  and  pondered,  and 
men  blessed  God  that  he  had  raised  up  in  those  dark, 
perplexing  days,  its  gifted  and  courageous  Bishop. 

Among  the  new  correspondents  attracted  to  him  by 
the  letters  to  Lord  Stanley,  was  the  faithful  and  eccen- 
tric Tom  Steele,  "  O'Connell's  Head  Pacificator  of  Ire- 
land," as  he  proudly  styled  himself.  A  couple  of  very 
curious  and  characteristic  letters  of  poor  Steele's,  will  be 

*  Appendix. 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


189 


found  among  the  documents  in  this  volume.*  Other 
and  more  important  correspondents  he  also  gained  about 
the  same  time,  but  we  doubt  if  any  accession  to  his  list 
could  hav*  frrr  *  d  him  more  thar  ♦^^t  of  O'Connell's 
most  faithful  adho.ont.  His  own  attachment  to  the  de- 
ceased leader  had  been  almost  as  enthusiastic  as  Steele's. 
He  was  one  of  his  sincerest  followers  living,  and  one  of 
the  most  deeply  affected  of  all  the  immense  multitude 
who  followed  him  to  his  honored  rest,  in  Glasnevin 
cemetery. 

It  had  been  one  of  O'Connell's  most  cherished  objects 
to  transfer  the  party  he  had  formed — if  two-thirds  of  a 
nation  may  justly  be  designated  a  party — to  the  leader- 
ship of  his  favorite  son,  John.  Those  who  were  nearest 
the  capital  of  the  agitation  early  saw  that  Mr.  John  O'Con- 
nell  had  neither  the  gifts  of  mind,  body  or  temper,  neces- 
sary to  supply  his  father's  place.  To  throw  on  him  the 
whole  blame  of  "the  secession"  of  1846,  would  be  un- 
fair and  untrue ;  there  was  on  the  the  other  side  some 
precipitancy,  much  self-opinion,  and  great  recklessness 
of  consequences.  Had,  however,  the  new  candidate  for 
chieftainship  possessed  the  ordinary  qualities  by  which 
power  once  created  is  conserved,  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  majority  of  the  present  generation  would  have 
faithfully  followed  him.    We  write  with  the  impartiality 


•  See  Appendix. 


Sjiri- 


140 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


of  many  added  years  of  experience,  when  we  avow  our 
firm  conviction  that  he  was  wholly  deficient  in  the 
amenity,  generosity,  vigor  and  justice  so  necessary  in 
the  successor  to  a  popular  sovereignty.  The  patriotic 
prelates  who  had  most  heartily  entered  into  the  fond 
father^s  views,  began  one  by  one  to  make  this  discovery, 
as  time,  wore  on.  In  June,  '48,  we  find  the  Bishop  of 
Clogher,  one  of  the  most' devoted  friends  of  O'Connell, 
writing  to  Dr.  Maginn :  "  Mr.  J.  O'Connell  is  pursuing 
a  course  which  will  strengthen  his  opponents  and  leave 
him  powerless.  I  made  an  effort  last  week  to  communi- 
cate briefly  to  him  my  poor  opinion,  but  my  letter, 
though  not  marked  as  such,  he  has,  I  suppose,  looked 
upon  as  'private,'  likewise  Dr.  Blake's — "  the  aged 
Bishop  of  Dromore.  It  is  plain,  from  the  letters  of  seve- 
ral Bishops  which  wo  have  seen,  that,  though  no  one 
could  be  more  obsequiously  humble  while  they  were  co- 
operating with  him,  he  could  also  be  petulantly  self- 
willed  when  they  became  his  catechists  or  counsellors. 
Like  most  small  minds  he  seems  to  have  mistaken  obsti- 
nacy for  firmness,  and  to  have  clung  the  more  despe- 
rately to  his  few  driftless  ideas,  as  adviser  after  adviser 
parted  his  company.  It  is  impossible  to  account  for  his 
conduct  in  the  first  half  of  '48,  on  the  hypothesis  of  hia 
political  honesty,  without  admitting  the  aggravating  ill 
effects  of  his  most  unfortunate  temper. 

The  political  torpor  of  1847  was  thoroughly  dispelled 


*  1  ilfclMtl  r  II II 


LIFK  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  M AOINK. 


141 


by  the  French  Revolution  of  February,  *48,  and  the  stir- 
ring events  that  followed  it.  Every  lover  of  the  country 
was  stirred  by  the  glorious  opportunity  presented.  Tho 
high-spirited  old  peers,  Lord  Cloncurry  and  Lord 
French,  who  remembered  Ireland  before  the  Unioi*, 
declared  emphatically  for  its  "  repeal ;"  Lord  Wallscourt, 
a  Connaught  proprietor,  half  French  socialist,  half  feudal 
chief,  joined  the  Young  Ireland  party;  Lord  Miltown 
returned  to  the  old  one.  Many  patriotic  Priests  began 
to  agitate  the  union  of  both  sections,  and  the  co-operation 
of  the  Bishop  of  Derry  was  earnestly  solicited. 

Dr.  Maginn's  relations  at  that  time  to  each  section, 
may  best  be  stated  in  tho  language  of  his  own  letters. 
In  '47  he  had  given  in  his  adhesion  to  Mr.  John  O'Con- 
nell,  in  a  public  letter  characterized  by  all  his  usual  fer- 
vor and  energy.  In  acknowledgment  of  this  adhesion, 
he  received  the  following  reply  from  Mr.  John  O'Con- 
nell: 


Dalkey,  (Gowran  Hill,)  Dublin,  May,  8,  1847. 

Right  Rev.  my  Very  Dear  Lord: 

I  am  in  receipt  of  the  great  and  kind  favor  of  your  lordship's  con< 
descending  letter  enclosing  ten  pounds,  (half  note,)  your  own  muni- 
ficent donation  and  that  of  your  respected  clergy  to  the  Repeal  Rent. 
I  say  munificent,  for  its  actual  magnitude  is  enhanced  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  teriible  distress  and  terrible  burthens  upon  you,  which 
the  calamity  of  the  country  has  caused. 

I  shall  of  course  observe  your  lordship's  injunction  as  to  not  giving 
the  names  to  the  papers.  How  is  it  possible  I  can  thank  you  for  your 
generous,  your  affectionate  kindness  to  my  dear,  dear  fatb.er  !  Alas,  he 
is  in  a  very  low  state.    The  hope  is  yet  left  to  us,  in  addition  to  our 


142 


LIFE  OP  RIOHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAQINN. 


humble  truat  that  Providence  raised  liim  up  for  a  speoial  purpose,  ond 
will  support  him  to  its  accomplishment. 

If  I  want  words  to  thank  you  for  him,  how  can  I  possibly  hope  to 
express  my  feelings  at  the  surpassing  kindness  and  generous  encou- 
ragement of  your  too — I  must  say  kab  too  high  opinion  of  myself. 
Would  to  God  I  in  any  way  merited  it !  Then  J  might  be  of  use  to 
poor  Ireland  ;   whereas  now  I  can  do  little  more  than  give  her  my 

eart's  best  wishes,  and  if  need  were,  its  blood, 

The  attempted  conference  between  "  Youno"  and  "  Old"  Ireland  has 
failed  of  good  results,  and  the  "  Nation"  fiercely  attacks  me  upon  the 
xmtrue — most  utterly  untrue — assertion  that  I  contemplated  alliance  and 
place-seeking  with  and  from  the  government  In  the  "  Nation"  itself 
they  have  been  obliged  to  give  my  correction  of  this  gross  mis-state- 
ment, although  they  so  furiously  attack  me.  They  also  attack  me  be- 
cause I  refused  to  consent — at  least  without  my  father's  assent  duly 
had,  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Association,  to  spare  the  Young  Irclanders 
the  ••mortification,"  as  they  alleged,  of  re-joining  the  body.  They 
want  to  establish  a  new  body,  made  up  of  the  old,  and  of  their  own 
confederation  ;  but  object  to  the  spirit,  as  well  as  the  sense  of  the  peace 
resolutions,  (see  •'  Nation,"  leading  artiele  this  day,)  although  the}'  talk 
of  taking  counsel's  opinion  on  the  rules  of  the  new  bod}',  whatever 
kind  of  thing  it  should  turn  out  to  be.  They  are  very  indignant  at  my 
not  at  once  consenting  to  give  up  the  association  that  weathered  the  storm 
of  the  state-prosecutions,  &c.,  &c. 

Coupling  this  with  the  exceedingly  violent  speeches  made  on  recent 
occasions  by  Meagher,  O'Oorman,  Mitchel  an'^  Doheny,  I  do  not  in- 
deed, my  dear  lord,  see  how  it  is  possible,  ac  least  at  present,  to  neake 
another  advance  towards  these  gentlemen.  Their  language  is  getting 
every  day  more  and  more  inflammatory,  and  there  is  an  attempt  at 
fraternizatiou  with  the  fag-end  of  the  implacable  Orange  party,  who 
delude  them  with  some  fair  words,  and  who  really  want  to  gather  aid 
against  what  they  call  •'  priestly  encroachments." 

We  have  no  immediate  letter  about  my  dear  father,  at  least  that  I 
have  as  yet  seen — (2  P.M. )  but  by  the  newspapers  we  learn  he  has 
been  again  able  to  move  a  liitle  way  on  —slowly.  I  fear  he  cannot  pos- 
sibly go  farther  than  the  South  of  France  this  summer.  Believe  me. 
reverend  my  dear  lord,  most  respectfully  and  most  heartily  your  much 
obliged  and  very  faithful,  John  O'Connell. 


LIFS  OF  RIGHT  RUV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


143 


At  the  end  of  the  previous  year,  just  at  the  time  "  the 
Irish  Confederation"  was  founded,  and  Six  months  after 
the  secession,  he  had  the  following  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Duffy,  Editor  of  the  Nation: 

DR.   MAG  INN   TO   MR.   DUFFY. 

Dear  Sir — I  herewith  send  you  a  post-office  order,  amount,  £1  68.* 
doe,  or  coming  due,  for  ti.e  Natioti  newspaper.  You  will  have  the 
goodness  to  desist,  for  the  present,  sending  it  to  me,  lest  my  continuing 
a  subscriber  should  be  interpreted  an  approval  of  a  schism  inauspi- 
ciously  begun  and  mischievously  persevered  in.  Having  had  the 
pleasure  of  an  early  acquaintance  with  your  respectable  family,  I  do 
candidly  say  that  I  took  an  interest  in  ever3-thing  that  appertained  to 
you,  and  was  proud,  as  a  Northman,  of  the  exceedingly  able  paper 
which  you  edited.  Since,  however,  it  has  become  an  instrument  of 
dissension,  advocating  the  eternal  separation  of  those  whom  a  common 
aim  and  object  should  unite  in  the  strong  sentiments  of  brotherhood, 
and  apoersing  the  sacred  character  of  one  so  justly  dear,  even  had  he  a 
thousand  faults,  to  every  genuine  Irishman,  to  retain  it  longer  must 
seem  a  dereliction  of  duty.  If  you  were  to  take  the  advice  of  one  who 
wishes  you  well,  I  would  in  all  earnestness  recommend,  for  the  good 
of  your  country,  a  sacrifice  of  your  own  cherished  opinions — a  forget- 
fulness  and  a  forgiveness  of  whatever  wrongs  you  may  think  you  have 
endured,  and  a  speedy  reconciliation  with  '*  the  Liberator."  If  nothing 
else  could  induce  you  to  take  this  advice,  the  fact  of  your  paper  be- 
coming the  pet  of  the  unblushing  haters  of  your  country,  should  make 
you  perceive  that  your  present  course  is  not  a  proper  one.  Believe 
me,  since  Mr.  OConnell's  proposed  reconciliation,  public  opinion  is 
fast  ebbing  from  you,  and  the  abettors  of  your  party  are  here  merely 
a  few  among  the  dregs  of  society,  whose  support  of  any  caase  must 
prove  its  ruin.  To  speak  thus  to  you  gives  me  exceeding  pain,  and 
were  I  not  your  friend  I  would  have  been  more  brief  and  less  candid. 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  truly,  >{«  Edward  Maoinn. 

MR.  DUFFY  TO  DR.   MAGINlf. 

January  6,  1847. 
Ml/  Dear  Lord — I  am  sincerely  obliged  by  your  kind  letter  and  by 
the  motives  that  suggested  it ;  and  I  am  not  the  less  grateful  to  your 


144 


LIFK  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


lordship  for  your  personal  kindnesi  b«oaai«  yon  deem  it  right  to  dis- 
oontinue  the  Nation  on  the  grounds  stated.  But  in  my  own  justifica- 
tion I  must  remind  your  lordship,  that  it  was  not  I  nor  my  friends  who 
oommenced  the  quarrel,  nor  is  it  our  fault  that  it  continues.  We  would 
willingly  have  gone  back  to  the  Association,  if  Mr.  O'Connell  had  con- 
sented to  a  fair  audit  of  the  accounts  for  the  future — they  hare  been 
un/airlj/  audited  and  disbursed  hitherto— and  to  a  real,  bonajlde,  honest 
agitation  fur  Uepeal.  Uis  refusal  of  those  concessions  left  us  no  option 
but  to  join  what  appears  to  us,  who  hnvo  seen  the  working  of  the  sys- 
tem for  years,  the  mere  pretence  of  a  Repeal  Agitation,  conducted  with 
personal  objects  alone,  or  to  take  the  course  we  have  taken. 

I  am  sorry  to  learn  from  your  lordship  that  our  supporters  in  Derry 
are  of  such  a  character ;  but  we  did  not  choose  these  men,  and  do  not 
oommunicate  with  them ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  we  know  that  the 
men  of  best  character  and  ability,  prominent  in  the  agitation,  have 
openly  sympathized  with  us.  But  in  either  case,  the  opinions,  not 
the  men,  are  the  questions  of  importance. 

I  trust,  and  indeed  feel  convinced,  that  time  will  convince  your  lord- 
ship that  the  Seceders  had,  and  have,  no  other  object  than  the  honest 
service  of  their  country. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  lord,  very  faithfully  yours, 

C.  G.    DUFFV. 

The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn,  Bishop  of,Derry. 

Subsequently,  wo  will  find  the  hope  expressed  in  Mr. 
Duffy's  letter  fulfilled  by  the  change  wrought  in  Dr.  Ma- 
ginn's  mind.  It  was  not,  however,  a  change  of  principle, 
but  a  modification  in  his  estimate  of  persons,  brought 
about  by  a  closer  and  more  lengthened  observation  of 
the  principlas  in  "  the  secession." 

Immediately  after  the  French  Revolution,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Miley,  of  Dublin,  who  had  accompanied  O'Connell 
in  his  last  journey  and  closed  his  eyes  in  death,  believing 
the  time  to  be  propitious,  resolved  to  renew  the  attempts 
of  the  preceding  year  for  a  "  Union  of  all  Repealers." 


LIFK  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


145 


la  conveying  to  the  Bishop  n  printed  proposition  of  Dr, 
Gcntili'H,  that  all  Ireland  should  bo  placed  under  the 
special  patronage  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  under  the  title 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Dr.  Miluy  writes,  in 
March : 


While  I  waa  absent  from  liome— in  Engb  d — I  saw  vrith  reviving 
lio])c  for  our  down-trodden  Ireland,  sonio  Blutcinent  to  Mi  j  effect  that 
your  lordsliip  was  oooupied  on  some  plan  for  setting  ua  \v  motion  on 
tiic  uphill,  but  still  sacred,  entcr))rize  of  battliuf^  by  toncue  and  pe**  for 
the  rigiits,  and  against  the  wrongs,  of  our  country.  I  beg  most  ear  -estly 
to  otfer  myself  as  a  conscript  in  this  crusade  under  the  gonfalo  viilch 
I  trust  ere  lung  your  lordship  will  unfold  to  the  longing  cyos  of  as 
many  amongst  us  as  have  not  as  yet  acquiesced  in  i  uwcry,  or  been 
guilty  of  despairing  of  a  cause  which  Christianity  com'.ncci*UB  must  be 
in  the  highest  favor  with  the  Almighty. 

Never  were  the  minds  of  the  empire  so  intently  turned  on  this  coun- 
try as  now.  Never,  I  believe,  did  there  exist  such  a  disposition  to  be 
enlightened  as  to  the  mi/tteri/  of  its  misfortunes.  Now,  my  Lord,  if 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  good  men  and  true  of  the  clerg3%  if  possible, 
with  your  lordship  and  a  few  more  of  our  prelates  (should  that  be 
deemed  expedient),  were  to  assemble  quietly  hero  in  Dubhn,  and  hav* 
ing  well  digested  the  case  of  Ireland  in  their  conference  together,  and 
apportioned  the  subjects  to  oorae  together  with  certain  lay  gentlemen, 
(if  it  should  be  doomed  advisable),  and  b"  speeches  well  prepared  and 
full  of  facta,  and  by  reports  to  break  out  <t:',Jenly  amidst  this  silence 
of  expectation,  with  such  an  impeachment  of  the  misrule  and  the 
grievances  to  which  our  misery  is  to  be  traced  as  no  one  could  deny 
or  refute — don't  you  think,  my  Lord,  ihat  the  best  results  might  fol- 
low, jespeciolly  were  we  to  take  judicious  and  effectual  measures,  by  a 
standing  committee,  occasional  meetings,  reports,  and  deputations  to 
England,  &c.,  &c.,  to  follow  np  the  blow  with  continuous  and  persever- 
ing exertion  1  This  would  rid  us  of  all  by-gones,  whether  leagues  or 
associations,  and  of  all  old  factious  responsibilities  ;  it  would  lift  up 
hope  in  the  people  ;  it  would  keep  the  clergy  in  their  position,  that  is, 
at  the  helm.  If  your  lordship  would  not,  or  could  not,  be  presents— 
which  Heaven  forbid  ! — would  you  not  oommiBsion  some  one  or  two 


146 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


li 
1 1 


of  your  clergy  to  take  part  in  such  meeting  I  It  is  ar  other  opportunity 
which,  if  not  seized,  we  shall  be  sure  to  see  when  there  is  no  remedy. 
Of  course,  to  arouse  the  world  to  a  sense  of  the  despotism,  making 
haste  to  come  in  the  now,  alas  !  familiar  form  of  famine,  and  to  force 
the  rulers  cither  to  do  their  duty  or  be  disgraced,  should  form  a  main 
object  of  that  meeting.  I  know  your  lordship  will  generously  and 
readily  excuse  the  liberty  with  which  I  have  written,  and  believe  me  to 
be  your  lordship's  ever  faithfully  and  most  respectfully,      J.  Milsy. 

Dr.  Maginn  received  this  proposition  with  all  the 
heartiness  of  his  nature,  and  out  of  the  correspondence 
sprung  those  conferences  between  Young  and  Old  Ireland 
which,  in  the  month  of  June  following,  led  to  the  disso- 
lution of  both  "the  Association"  and  "the  Confedera- 
tion," and  the  formation  from  both  of  "the  Irish 
League."  The  share  of  Dr.  Maginn  in  this  coalition, 
then  so  promising,  was  active  and  influential  from  the 
first.  A  mob  in  Limerick  having  been  excited  to  break 
up  a  Young  Ireland  meeting,  and  offer  personal  violence 
to  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien,  in  April,  Dr.  Maginn  took  advan- 
tage of  the  occasion  to  offer  Mr.  O'Brien,  by  letter,  the 
assurance  of  his  personal  sympathy  and  regard.  This 
letter  we  have  not  found  among  his  papers,  but  Mr. 
O'Brien's  reply  indicates  its  cordial  character : 

MR.   o'bRIEN   to  dr.    MAGINN. 

Druid  Lodge,  Kilkenny,  May  5,  1848. 
My  Bear  Lord: 

Yc  r  very  kind  letter,  prompted  by  the  most  generous  emotions, 
has  been  productive  of  the  sentiments  which  you  desired,  in  writing  it, 
to  inspire.  I  need  not  assure  your  Lordship  that  the  bodily  injury 
which  I  have  sustained  in  consequence  of  the  affair  at  Limerick,  has 
not  been  deemed  by  me  worthy  of  consideration,  but  I  confess  that  my 


I  :  i 


w 


LIFE   or  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


147 


my  spirit  is  deeply  wonnded  by  this  occurrence,  and  that  my  hopes  for 
Irtlaiid's  freedom  have  been  greatly  discouriiged  by  it. 

The  assurances  which  I  receive  from  every  quarter,  that  the  ])erver- 
eity  which  gave  occasion  to  this  proceeding  finds  no  support  or 
approval  amongst  any  portion  of  the  Repealers  of  Ireland,  tend, 
indeed,  to  connternct  its  consequences,  both  as  regards  myself  and  the 
Cause  ;  and  you  will  believe  me  when  I  say  that  such  a  manifestation 
of  feeling  could  emanate  from  few  i)cr8on8  with  more  soothing  effect, 
than  from  your  Lordship.  Accept,  therefore,  my  very  sincere  thanks 
for  your  very  gratifying  letter. 

A  circumstance  has  occurred  with  regard  to  your  Lordship's  letter, 
which,  I  trust,  will  not  cause  you  as  much  anxiety  as  it  has  occasioned 
to  me.  I  received  it  to-day  when  in  Dublin,  engaged  with  several 
visitors,  read  it  hastily,  and  not  perceiving  that  you  were  desirous  that 
it  should  be  regarded  as  a  confidential  communication,  intimated  its 
contents  to  those  present.  Upon  re-perusing  it  carefull}',  when  I 
returned  home,  I  found  that  you  are  desirous  that  your  name  should 
not  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  your  subscription  to  the  Defence 
Fund.  I  instantly  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  OfTice  of  the  Nation 
to  stop  the  publication  of  your  name,  and  trust  that  I  have  thus  atoned 
for  the  inadvertence  of  which  I  had  been  guilty. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Lord,  your  very  obliged  friend, 

W.  S.  OBhiEN. 

Simultaneously  with  his  entering  into  communication 
with  Mr.  O'Brien,  the  Bishop  had  urged  the  necessity 
of  a  re-union  on  Mr.  John  O'Connell,  Mr.  Dufify,  and 
other  gentlemen.  Their  replies  will  show  the  spirit  in 
which  they  received  these  paternal  advices : 

MR.  JOHN  o'cONNELL   TO  DR.  MAGINN. 

[Private  ]  May  31,  1848 

My  Revered  Good  Lord : 

Duty  and  respectful  attention  make  me  anxious  to  submit  to  you  the 
result,  so  far  as  yet  obtained,  of  our  "  conferences''  with  the  Con- 
federates. 

After  our  next  meeting,  Friday,  I  expect  we  sliall  meet  no  more  ;  but 
shall  each  be  calling  on  the  country  to  discountenance  the  other. 


i: 


i 


148 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


!     i. 


it 


I  send  a  similar  document  to  Dr.  Cantwell ;  and  I  am,  my  revered 
Lord,  most  deeply,  respectfully,  and  faithfully,  yours  ever, 

John  O'Connell. 

MR.  JOHN  0*CONNELL  TO  DR.    MAGINN. 

Dublin,  June  7,  1848. 
Mif  Dear  and  much  respected  Lord: 

I  am  truly  happy  that  your  Lordship  approves  of  what  has  as  yet 
been  done. 

You  may  depend  on  my  doing  my  best  to  forward  the  re-union  of 
Repealers  so  much  desired. 

J  shall  do  so  heartily  and  in  earnest,  while  in  my  own  mind,  doubt- 
ing much  the  decision  the  country  has  made  ;  and  fearing  the  results,  I 
am,  my  dear  Lord,  with  deep  respect,  esteem,  and  affection, 

Yours  most  faithfully, 

John  O'Connell. 

Morton  Ranelaoh,  June  22, 1848. 

My  Dear  Lord, — I  am  exceedingly  sorry  that  I  have  been  deceived 
into  using  your  Lordship's  name  in  connexion  with  the  Derry  meeting. 
The  Confederation  were  certainly  under  the  deluded  impression  that 
the  movement  was  one  countenanced  by  you,  and  since  it  is  not,  I  am 
tolerably  sure  they  will  not  take  part  in  it. 

There  is  no  longer  any  impediment  to  the  Irish  League  but  mero 
personal  hesitation  on  the  part  of  Mr.  John  O'Connell.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  "Conference  last  night,  he  proposed  to  retire  from  politics 
for  some  time,  to  give  the  League  a  fair  trial ;  but  as  it  was  appre- 
hended that  his  retirement  would  deter  some  of  the  clergy  from  going, 
he  was  strongly  urged  not  to  do  so.  It  is  not  yet  certain  how  he  will 
act.  Believe  me,  my  dear  lord,  very  truly  yours, 

C.  G.  DCFFT. 

The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn. 

P.  S.  I  too  think  Mr.  Kenyon's  letter  most  indiscrest  and  injurious ; 
but  we  must  not  allow  the  escapades  of  individuals,  on  either  side,  to 
separate  the  Irish  people  any  longer. 

The  protraction  of  these  meetings  was  most  perilous 
and  impolitic  at  such  a  season  of  excitement,  and  truth 
compels  us  to  declare  that  the  delay  was  mainly,  if  not 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  BEV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


149 


solely,  the  work  of  Mr.  John  O'Connell.  At  an  early 
sitting  he  asked  a  fortnight's  delay,  which  was  granted ; 
at  the  next  he  asked  a  second  fortnight,  which  was  again 
granted.  In  that  eventful  month  the  impetuous  Mitchel. 
was  arrested,  the  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus  was 
determined  on,  whole  counties  were  proclaimed  under 
martial  law,  the  Club  system  expanded  with  dangerous 
suddenness,  and  the  country,  long  accustomed  to  asso- 
ciated control,  was  abandoned  to  the  frenzy  of  the  hour. 
A  month's  time  wasted  in  indecision,  under  the  circum- 
stances, wad  a  national  calamity  of  the  most  serious 
kind,  and  this  calamity  the  unworthy  son  of  O'Connell 
brought  assuredly  upon  his  country. 

While  this  willful  waste  of  time  was  made  at  Dublin, 
gleams  of  hope  arose  and  shone  for  Ireland  in  most  un- 
expected quarters.  A  society  called  "The  Protestant 
Eepeal  Association"  had  been  improvised  in  the  capital, 
out  of  the  more  advanced  members  of  "  the  Irish  Coun- 
cil." Mr.  Vance,  Mr.  Ferguson,  Mr.  Ireland — all  able 
and  honorable  men — were  its  founders.  Greater  names 
were  whispered  as  to  come.  Mr.  Sharman  Crawford, 
the  Nestor  of  Ulster  liberalism,  was  certainly  well  dis- 
posed towards  this  movement,  as  the  following  letter 
will  show : 


MR.  SHARMAN  CRAWFORD   TO  DR.   MAGINX. 

LONDOV,  May  9, 1848. 
My  Dear  Lord, — I  did  not  till  yesterday  receive  your  kind  letter  of 
the  3d  inst.,  it  having  arrived  at  my  residence  after  my  departure  for 


! 
I 


150 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  RKV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


London,  it  was  forwarded  after  me  to  this  place,  and  this  was  the  cause 
of  delay  in  my  receiving  it. 

I  am  truly  thankful  for  the  expressions  of  confidence  which  it  con- 
tains. I  can  assure  you  I  should  feel  it  the  proudest  day  of  my  liife, 
if  I  could  lead  on  the  Protestant  population  of  Ulster  in  an  eft'ort  for 
the  restoration  of  a  domestic  Parliament. 

I  have  always  felt  that  no  good  could  arise  from  the  Repeal  of  the 
Union,  if  carried  in  hostility  to  Protestant  feeling.  If,  however,  tlie 
Protestant  interest  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it  favorably,  I  conceive 
it  to  be  the  only  chance  of  salvation  for  Ireland.  I  expect  that  in  a 
few  days  you  will  see  my  sentiments  more  fully  developed  on  this 
point.  I  was  requested  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Dublin  Protestant 
Repeal  Association.  It  was  not  in  my  power  to  do  so.  I,  however, 
wrote  a  letter  in  terms  which,  I  trust,  you  will  consider  calculated  to 
foster  the  Protestant  movement.  It  will  probably  be  published  in  the 
report  of  the  meeting  which  was  appointed  to  take  place  this  day.  I 
agree  wUh  you  that  an  amalgamation  of  Protestant  support  with  that 
of  your  denomination,  in  this  great,  and,  I  think,  just  cause,  is  the  only 
escape  which  we  can  look  forward  to  from  continued  and  increasing 
agitation,  discord  and  confusion,  and  perhaps  in  the  end  to  that  great- 
est of  all  evils,  civil  war.  You  may  depend  on  my  using  every  effort 
in  my  power  to  give  effect  to  Protestant  opinion  on  this  question,  if  a 
sufficient  body  of  my  brethren  come  forward  to  indicate  it. 
Yours,  my  dear  lord,  faithfully, 

W.  Sharman  Crawford. 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

About  this  time  the  following  extraordinary  propo- 
sition was  sent  in  circular  form  from  the  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury's friend,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Winter,  to  all  the  Irish 
Bishops : 
LORD  Shrewsbury's  circular,  recommending  a  new  repeal 

AGITATION. 

[Copy.]  Alton  Towers,  April  6,  1848. 

Dear  Lr.  Winter: 

Each  day  the  condition  of  Ireland  seems  to  me  more  and  more 
alarming.  Hitherto  I  have  ever  been  an  enemy  to  Repeal,  because  I  con- 
ceived repeal  to  be  Republicanism,  and  republicanism  to  be  Communisir. 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


151 


besides  which  I  always  hoped  for  justice  to  Ireland  by  some  less  dan» 
gerous  process,  ami  was  also  satisfied  that  tlie  power  of  England  was 
capable  of  maintaining  order  and  subordination  in  Ireland  till  that 
happy  day  shcnild  arrive.  But  the  French  Revolution  has  changed  all 
things,  and  put  at  nought  all  our  calculations  Now  I  begin  to  feel 
even  Repeal  might  be  a  blessing — it  might  save  Ireland  from  Rebellion 
and  England  from  Chartism.  If  all  would  become  Repealers  ;  if  the 
whorle  Hierarchy  of  Ireland  would  embrace  Repeal  as  the  last  hope  of 
averting  the  dreadful  alternative  of  civil  war — and  tha  certain  con- 
sequence of  civil  war,  if  it  were  successful,  Communism — then,  indeed, 
we  might  expect  to  see  a  less  deplorable  result.  If  the  whole  Clergy 
of  IreJiiiid  were  united  in  the  cry  for  Repeal,  it  would  also  unite  with 
them  a  large  body  of  the  middle  chasses,  and  even  a  very  numerous 
landed  proprietary.  In  this  case  they  would  be  able,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
to  guide  the  destinies  of  the  people  into  a  more  moderate  course,  and 
retain  them  under  the  influence  of  religion.  Whereas,  if  Repeal  were 
the  consequence  of  rebellion,  the  government  of  the  rabble  would  be 
the  result,  and  Ireland  would  be  France  on  a  small  scale  at  the  very 
best. 

The  present  administration  is  infatuated,  and  I  feel  confident  that  we 
have  no  hope  from  them.  Their  intentions  are  equally  good,  but  they 
have  not  the  energy  to  carry  them  out,  and  give  for  a  reason  that  the 
prejudices  of  Scotland  and  England  are  too  great  to  be  surmounted  by 
anything  less  than  bloodshed  and  confusion,  both  here  and  in  Ireland. 

If,  then,  a  sufficiently  formidable  display  of  Repealers  could  be 
organized,  I  think  the  Government  would  resign  their  power  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  to  whom  everj'  one  looks  forward  as  the  probable  Saviour 
of  his  country.  This  would  be  another  hope  ;  for,  perhaps,  PeeVs 
justice,  and  the  settlement  of  the  Church  question,  might  even  avert 
Repeal  itself ;  if  not,  he  would  be  far  more  likely  to  make  the  necessary 
sacrifice  to  escape  that  most  awful  of  all  calamities.  Civil  War.  In 
fine,  things  cannot  go  on  as  they  are,  and  any  expcdtent  is  worth  the 
trial  for  the  safety  of  the  Empire.  Ireland,  alas  !  is  not  like  Sicily, 
but  is  full  of  antagonistic  races  and  antagonistic  principles  ;  so  that 
unless  the  whole  power  of  the  Catholic  clergy  were  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  conduct  of  the  legislature  in  case  of  Repeal,  we  should  soon 
be  involved  in  a  worse  predicament  than  that  from  which  Ireland  is 
now  seeking  to  escape.  All,  then,  will  depend  upon  the  assertion 
of  sound  principles  by  the  clergy  ;  if  they  fall  into  Republicanism, 


152 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


I 


i 


and  Republicanism  ia  to  lead  to  Communism  and  Infidelity,  we  had  far 
better  fight  it  out,  and  leave  the  issue  to  God. 

I  have  written  to  my  good  friend,  Dr.  Ennis,  much  in  the  same 
strain.  I  wish  you  would  see  him,  and  give  me  your  united  opinion  on 
the  matter. 

Believe  me,  dear  Dr.  Winter,  most  truly  and  faithfully  yours, 

Shrewsbury. 

P.S. — I  think,  also,  that  the  presenfmoment' presents  a  more  favor- 
able opportunity  for  Repeal,  than  any  other,  because  our  own  dif- 
ficulties, both  internal  and  external,  will  prevent  us  acting  the  bully. 
We  should  be  willing  to  adjust  matters  upon  amicable  terms,  and  put 
up  with  inconveniences  which,  under  other  circumstances,  would 
cause  a  collision. 

A  small  but  respectable  section  of  the  Irish  gentry, 
who  did  not  go  quite  so  far  as  repeal,  began  to  meet  at 
the  eminent  Surgeon  Carmichael's,  and  subsequently  at 
the  Eotunda,  to  advocate  alternate  sittings  of  Parliament 
in  Dublin,  Edinburgh  and  London.  Colonel  Eobinson, 
Dr.  Grattan,  Mr.  Chetwode,  Dr.  Graves,  Dr.  Carmichael, 
and  Lord  Cloncurry  were  engaged  in  this  advocacy, 
when  the  Young  Ireland  explosion  frightened  them  into 
retirement. 

The  knowledge  that  such  elements  of  strength  were, 
or  could  be,  gathered,  made  men  like  Dr.  Maginn  fever- 
ishly anxious  for  the  successful  termination  of  the 
"  Conferences."  We  shall  let  Dr.  Miley  relate  the  vari- 
ous fortunes  of  the  negotiation  : 

DR.    MILET   TO  DR.   MAGINN. 

Metropolitan  Church,  Dublin,  May  3, 1858. 
My  Dear  Lord,—Yoxa  Lordship's  letter  of  the  29th  ult.  appeared  to 
me  so  highly  calculated  to  cheer  and  confirm  the  Hon.  member  for 
Limerick,  in  that  much  of  his  course  which  challenges  confidence  and 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAQINN. 


158 


approval,  and  to  set  him  right  as  to  that  portion  of  it  in  which  he  may 
have  goue  wrong,  that  I  did  not  hesitate  to  give  it  him  to  read  just 
after  I  had  received  it  on  Monday  last.  No  one  can  bo  better  disposed 
than  he  is,  more  entirely  devoted  to  the  cause,  or  happier  at  receiving 
suggestions  and  advice,  especially  from  the  bishops  and  clergy.  I 
know  that  he  feels  profoundly  grateful  for  your  Lordship's  sympathy 
and  exertions  in  his  behalf,  and  I  trust  that  his  career  henceforward 
will  be  such  as  more  than  ever  to  merit  this  favor. 

Although  that  affair  in  Limerick  is  in  some  respects  a  very  unfortu- 
nate one,  it  is  still  an  unequivocal  proof  of  the  constancy  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  that  no  man  can  induce  them  to  trample  on  gratitude,  even 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  their  pursuit  after  liberty.  There  is  also  reason 
to  hope  that  it  may  be  made  the  means  of  bringing  about  a  more  satis- 
factory understanding  between  the  two  sections  than  has  as  yet  been 
effected.  Some  overtures  have  been  made  to  me  by  leading  confeder- 
ates this  forenoon  to  that  effect ;  and  I  hope  of  the  Repeal  Committee, 
to  which  I  am  just  now  about  to  go,  that  something  may  be  devised  to 
bring  about  an  arrangement  by  which  the  recurrence  of  such  collisions 
may  be  prevented,  and  the  two  bodies  brought  to  some  extent  into 
harmony.    Without  this,  success  or  safety  can  hardly  be  hoped  for. 

Your  Lordship  will  be  happy  to  learn  that  I  have  succeeded,  quite 
contrary  to  the  anticipations  of  my  friends,  in  obtaining  permission 
from  His  Grace,  Dr.  Murray,  to  have  the  anniversary  oflSce  for  the  Lib- 
erator in  our  church  here  on  the  16th  of  this  month.  Nothing  shall  be 
left  undone  to  make  the  solemnity  everything  that  it  ought  to  be ; 
perhaps,  too,  the  assembling  of  the  prelates  and  clergy  which  may  be 
expected  to  take  place  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  would  afford  a 
favorable  opportunity  for  putting  forth  some  joint  expression  of  opin- 
ion and  feeling  as  to  the  calamitous  condition  to  which  English  misrule 
has  brought  ourselves  and  our  people.  Rev.  Mr.  Maher,  of  Carlow, 
has  been  induced  to  devote  himself  to  the  preparation  of  a  detailed 
statement  of  the  horrors  of  the  last  two  years.  Would  your  Lordship 
consider  the  matter  regarding  which  I  have  already  written  to  Dr. 
Cantwell,  and  intend  to  write  to  some  of  the  other  prelates  and  clergy 
What  makes  the  opportunity  particularly  valuable  in  my  mind  is  this 
that  the  prelates  and  clergy  who  will  assemble  are  likely  to  be  all,  or 
nearly  all,  of  the  right  sort,  and  therefore  that  the  danger  of  any  split 
or  misunderstanding,  in  any  meeting  it  may  be  deemed  proper  to  hold, 
would  be  got  rid  of ;  and,  again,  that  the  occasion  of  our  coming  tor 
gether  would  be  such  as  to  prevent  others  from  taking  alarm  and  at 


5j^:5*ai"-^fr 


Tv^mss^iSSS 


154 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


tempting  any  counter  movement.  Aa  to  your  Lordship's  presence,  I 
most  earnestly  and  respectfully  entreat  it,  as  also  a  word  of  advice  as 
to  liow  the  opportunity  should  be  turned  to  the  best  account. 

The  enclosed  most  extraordinary  document  will  speak  for  itself.  It 
was  to  it  I  alluded  in  Conciliation  Hall  on  Monday  fortnight ;  and  what 
gives  importance  to  the  views  and  statements  in  it  is,  that  it  was  writ- 
ten after  the  noble  Earl  hod  had  a  long  conference  with  Falmerston, 
Russell,  Lord  Lanedowno  and  Sir  George  Gray  on  the  expediency  of  at 
once  conceding  the  Repeal  of  the  Union. 

Believe  me  to  be,  my  dear  Lord, 

Most  devotedly  yours, 

J.  MiLET. 

Right  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

DUBUX,  May  13,  1848 
*  *  *  Wo  had  a  meeting  last  night  of  the  leaders  of  the  three 
associations,  Conciliation  Hall,  Confederation,  and  the  Protestant  Re* 
peal  Association.  In  some  respects  I  have  not  been  cheered  by  the 
result.  I  fear  the  men  will  not  work  earnestly  and  heartily  together. 
The  O'Connells  are  for  loitering,  and  parry  new  attempts  too  much  ; 
the  Confederates  tend  to  the  opposite  extreme  ;  and  the  Protestants, 
keen,  well-intrenched  and  full  of  intelligence,  seem  disposed  to  take 
up  a  position  of  observation.  We  had,  however,  some  material  expla- 
nations, which  iray  be  useful.  Mr.  Ferguson  having  stated,  as  did  Mr. 
Ireland  also,  that  the  Protestants  were  mainly  withheld  by  the  dread 
that  the  Irish  Parliament  would  be  inundated  by  representatives  from 
the  Catholic  clergy,  I  ventured  to  assert  that  such  an  ipprehensioa 
was  groundless ;  that  the  Catholic  clergy  were  anxious  only  for  the 
independence  and  prosperity  of  their  country,  and  not  for  parliament- 
ary honors.  Messrs.  S.  O'Brien  and  the  O'Connells  said  they  thought 
the  examples  of  Belgium  and  France  should  not  be  lost  sight  of.  I 
differed  with  them  ;  and  pointing  out  the  obvious  difference  in  the 
casQ  of  Ireland,  asserted  that  in  my  mind  to  get  rid  of  opposition 
to  the  Repeal  Association,  and  to  secure  its  success,  there  was  no  ex- 
pectancy or  hope  of  that  sort  which  the  clergy  of  Ireland  would  not 
be  found  most  willing  to  abjure.  I  added,  that  we  should  ever  prefer 
the  voluntary  principle  for  our  own  support,  but  that  in  4oIng  so  we 
should  insist  on  all  other  denominations  of  clergy  being  reduced 
to  the  same  level,  guarantees  being  given  for  the  life  interest  of  the 
present  incumbents.    Maurice  0*C.  said  he  was  ready  to  guarantee 


'  : 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


155 


support  to  the  Proteatant  clergy.  I  differed  with  him,  as  did  most  of 
tho  others.  Mr.  Ferguson  seemed  quite  delighted  with  the  explana- 
tion, and  assured  mo  he  anticipated,  from  the  communication  of  what 
I  had  stated  to  his  party,  the  most  favorable  results.  He  gave  me  hia 
hand  with  great  warmth,  and  in  reply  to  my  suggestion,  that  a?  Cath- 
olic priests  and  bishops  were  not  to  sit  in  Ireland's  Parliament,  neither 
should  the  Protestant  prelates,  he  said,  with  emphasis,  *'  There  was  no 
fear  of  that."  We  arc  to  have  another  meeting  next  Wednesday  evening. 
I  should  nice  to  know  from  your  Lordship  if  you  think  I  went  too  far  t 
In  extreme  haste,  I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 

Your  Lordship's,  very  devotedly, 

J.  MiLGT. 

The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn,  Sec.,  &g. 

Ddbux,  June  9,  1848. 

Ml/  Dear  Lord,—l  seize  on  the  first  moment  to  announce  that  at 
length,  as  if  by  miracle,  the  "  Union"  of  Repealers  would  seem  to  be 
secured.  Last  night  it  was  reported  to  the  Conference  that  both  the 
committee  of  Conciliation  Hall  and  the  council  oF'the  Confederates 
had  agreed  to  the  new  basis  and  fundamental  rules  by  unanimous  vote. 
Of  the  amount  of  difQculties  which  stood  in  the  way  of  this  consum- 
mation, your  Lordship  can  barely  form  an  adequate  notion  ;  and  the 
best  of  it  is,  that  not  only  is  the  Union  agreed  to  by  all  parties,  but 
they  enter  into  it  with  the  most  cordial  good  will,  and  resolve  to  leave 
nothing  undone  to  effect  it,  in  all  honor,  and  good  faith  and  zeal  toge- 
ther. 

The  basis  and  rules  were  drawn  up  by  Sir  Colman  O'Loughlin  and 
your  humble  servant. -' They  are  to  this  effect :  The  object  of  the  new 
body  shaU  be  to  seek  the  legislative  independence  of  Ireland  by  the 
"  union  of  all  sections  of>  Irishmen,  and  by  the  concentration  of  public 
opinion."  Not  a  word  about  "  physical  force."  It  is  a  icritten  under- 
standing regularly  registered,  that  nothing  seditious  shall  be  spoken 
in  the  Association,  and  that  no  one  is  there  to  call  on  the  people  even 
to  arm,  though  to  do  so  is  not  exactly  illegal.  Thus  there  is  no  com- 
promise of  principle — nothing  illegal  involved  in  the  Union.  As  an 
additional  guarantee,  it  is  a  fundamental  rule  that  no  measure  is  to  be 
proposed  in  the  Association  until  it  p'aall  first  have  passed  the  commit- 
tee. In  short,  the  new  is  just  as  constitutional  and  legal  as  the  old 
form  ]  the  only  difference  is,  that  we  abstained  from  urging  those  points 
upon  which  we  knew  unanimity  could  never  be  had,  and  by  not  aim- 
ing at  a  too  exact  and  captious  code  of  restrictions.    Safety  and  the 


156 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


working  power,  we  thought,  were  what  we  should  look  to.    It  is  agreed 
on  all  hands  that  this  Is  attained. 

One  hitch  is  still  in  the  way.  The  secretary  of  the  now  body  must 
be  Mr.  Ray.  It  is  the  wish  of  the  Confederates  to  give  him  a  colleague 
with  equal  powers ;  this  Mr.  Ray  refuses.  No  doubt  ho  is  right,  and  I 
do  not  detpair  that  a  proposal  to  have  an  aaaistant  secretary  ftrom  the 
Confederation  was  by  this  evening  agreed  to.  Though  apparently  a 
trifle,  it  is  a  most  critical  matter,  this.  Pray  Heaven  it  do  not  upset 
qb!  They  talk  of  calling  the  new  thing  the  "Irish  League" — ^what 
would  your  Lordship  call  it  ?  That  name  is  not  very  signiQcaut.  If  all 
be  settled  this  evening,  the  adjournments  are  to  take  place  on  Monday 
or  Tuesday  next,  and  the  first  meeting  of  the  League  is  to  be  an- 
nonuced  probably  for  Wednesday  week,  to  be  held  if  possible  in  the 
Rotunda,  in  any  case  on  neutral  ground.  The  after,  meetings  to  be  in 
Conciliation  Hall,  and  as  usual,  on  Monday,  and  in  the  day-time.  A 
new  name  and  new  decorations  were  given  to  the  Hall.  To  this  first 
meeting  the  chief  Repealers  are  to  be  invited  ftom  all  parts.  Would 
it  be  possible  for  your  Lordship  to  come  and  give  your  blessing  to,  and 
set  your  seal  upon,  this  union,  out  of  which,  with  God's  blessing,  shall 
spring  the  liberty  and  prosperity  of  our  country  ?  I  believe  that  with- 
out this  union  the  repeal  would  not  be  hoped  for,  and  that  a  terrible 
conflict  at  no  distant  day  must  have  happened.  But  to  win  for  it  its 
fall  effect,  it  would  seem  indispensable  that  the^  prelates  and  clergy 
should,  by  a  general  action  and  systematic  movement,  exert  themselves 
to  secure  a  controlling  power  in  it,  by  giving  to  John  O'Connell  such 
pledges  and  testimonies  of  their  confidence  and  support,  that  through 
him  as  their  organ  or  representative,  they  may  hold  the  entire  body 
within  the  bounds  of  religion  and  order.  No  one  can  so  effectually 
aid  in  this  as  your  ^  ordship.  Your  word  will  be  a  law.  Of  course,  the 
thing  requires  caution.  The  feuds  which  we  are  trying  to  bury  must 
not  be  evoked  again  ;  the  concord  so  essential  to  success  must  not  be 
risked  ;  but  your  Lordship,  while  avoiding  all  appearance  of  partizan- 
ifalp,  will  know  how  to  secure  for  John  O'Connell  that  importance  in 
the  new  body  which  will  win  for  the  Catholic  interest  that  weight  and 
respect  which  it  deserves.  Your  Lordship  knows  as  well  *  •  *  • 
the  motives  by  which  I  am  actuated  in  writing  thus,  as  I  have  been 
throughout  the  entire  progress  of  this  most  critical  and  troublesome 
transaction,  that  I  am  sure  of  being  pardoned  any  seeming  of  obtru 
siveness  which  it  may  bear. 

A  line  from  your  lordship  regarding  this  entire  affair  will  be  grate- 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


157 


taWy  prized,  and  used  as  a  guide  by  your  lordebip's  very  faithful  ser- 
vant, J.  MlLKT. 

Accordingly,  on  the  12th  of  July,  the  first  meeting  of 
"the  Irish  League"  was  held,  amid  great  enthusiasm. 
After  two  years  of  separation  nnd  bitter  warfare,  the 
divided  repealers  met  again  on  the  same  platform. 
There  was  a  great  and  sincere  display  of  good  feeling 
on  both  sides.  Messrs.  Stritch,  Leyne  and  Dunne  spoke 
for  the  old  Hall ;  Messrs.  O'Mallcy,  (Rev.)  O'Gorman  and 
McGee  for  the  Confederation.  Both  had  been  dissolved 
to  melt  into  one,  not,  however,  without  dropping  some 
incongruous  particles  on  both  sides.  Mr.  John  O'Con- 
nell  held  aloof,  in  high  dudgeon,  and  Mr.  Mitchel's  sect 
were  equally  hostile.  Too  fast  for  the  one,  we  were  too 
slow  for  the  other.  A  compromise — a  middle  course — 
was  equally  objectionable  to  both  extremes.  It  was 
found  very  soon  that  the  new  legal  condenser  was  too 
fragile  for  the  steam  got  up  by  the  Clubs,  or  rather,  that 
it  was  tried  too  late  I  The  staff  of  Old  Ireland  persisted 
in  its  retirement,  while  the  vanguard  of  Young  Ireland 
paused  a  moment,  applauded  the  sentiment  of  unity, 
and  then  went  on  its  way,  reckless  as  ever.  The  Free- 
man got  cold,  the  Nation  got  hot,  the  moderates  gradu- 
ated into  the  disgusted,  and  the  fate  of  the  kingdom  was 
left  between  the  Castle  and  the  Clubs.  Writing  after 
the  Young  Ireland  catastrophe,  to  Under-Secretary  Red- 
ington.  Bishop  Maginn  thus  deplores  the  failure  of  "  the 


■«       .^.   '  -.      ■:-7V'i^:^.mm!rT--'^-'.>^-^y-^:^-:m 


158 


LIFK  OF   RIGHT   KKV.    KDWAKI)   MAQlNlN. 


Irish  Lcnguo":  "Dr.  Maginn  and  clergy,"  ho  says,  "did 
not  join  thu  League;  but  they  would  have  joined  it,  on 
the  express  condition  of  their  own  resolutions  (that  Ire- 
land's regeneration  should  be  worked  out  by  means 
peaceful,  legitimate  and  Christian),  had  the  League  con- 
tinued to  exist.  Their  only  regret  now  is,  that  they  did 
not  join  it  at  an  earlier  date,  as  their  example  might 
have  been  followed  by  others;  and  by  the  re-union  of 
Young  and  Old,  and  the.  concentration  of  public  opinion 
in  it,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  rash  but  devoted  patriots 
of  the  country  would  be  constrained  and  directed  into 
proper  channels,  and  made  conducive  to  the  object  all 
had  in  view — the  restoration  of  our  Irish  Parliament." 

The  catastrophe  of  Young  Ireland  took  place  in  the 
first  days  of  August.  On  the  fifth  of  that  month  Mr. 
O'Brien  walked  into  Thurles,  apparently  desperate  of 
consequences,  and  was  arrested.  Meagher,  McManus, 
and  others  were  taken  during  the  week.  The  rest 
escaped  to  the  Continent  or  to  America,  by  one  strata- 
gem or  another.  Those  taken  were  tried  at  Clonmel,  in 
October,  and  sentenced  to  death — a  sentence  afterwards 
commuted  to  transportation  for  life.  Lord  Clarendon 
had  a  triumph,  and  the  national  cause  was  deserted. 
The  howl  of  savage  triumph  was  raised  by  the  London 
press,  and  broad  hints,  followed  by  direct  statements, 
appeared,  that  the  letters  found  in  Mr.  O'Brien's  port- 
manteau, inculpated,  among  others,  the  Bishop  of  Derry. 


LIFJC  Of   RIGUT  RKV.   KDWAUI)  MAGINX. 


159 


These  reports  at  length  led  to  the  following  correspon- 
dence : 


)erry. 


DK.    MA(;iNN   TO   UNDEU    SKCRETART    REDINOTON. 

Sir — It  bas  been  very  wlnely  Huid  that  tbcro  Ih  a  time  for  speaking 
out  and  a  time  for  observing  Hilcnce.  Tbo  difllculty,  however,  ban  ever 
been  in  af>ccrtnin!ng  tbu  proper  tiineH  and  eouaouii  for  doing  citber  or 
both.  I  candidly  admit,  Sir,  that  for  the  la^t  two  months  I  baited 
more  than  ouco  in  malting  my  Beiection.  A  certain  party,  assuredly 
not  tbo  most  trutbrul  or  nmiublc  in  fhis  country,  have  been  malting 
thcrasclveH  and  the  public  familiar  with  my  humble  name,  by  embalm- 
ing it  with  epithets  which,  like  everything  coming  from  them,  are 
neither  liweet-smelllng  nor  ogrccable.  I  and  clergy  have  been  pub- 
licly branded  by  it  aH  traitors,  rebels,  preachers  of  sedition,  disallec- 
tion  and  dislovalty  ;  yea,  by  eorae  of  this  vile  party  wo  have  been 
styled  communists  and  murderers,  in  intent,  of  all  the  honest,  virtuous 
and  loyal  in  tBo  land,  4tc.  Having  well  understood,  from  th;  hictory 
of  that  infamous  faction,  that  their  trade  was  calumny ;  that  the  venom 
of  asps  was  ever  on  their  lips,  and  their  throats  gaping  sepulchres  ; 
that  slander  was  their  daily  bread,  and  that  the  only  means  left  them 
to  sustain  the  Pclion  on  OsFa  of  iniquity,  with  which  they  have  ever 
borne  down  and  oppressed  this  unhappy  island,  were  the  accumulation 
of  falsehoods  and  deceptions  as  buttresses  against  this  syi-tcm  ;  the 
common  sense  of  mankind  they  shocked,  and  the  justice  they  trampled 
upon.  I  would  have  patiently  borne  with  this,  Sir,  and  more  than  this, 
and  submitted  to  all  In  silence,  finding  their  apology  in  the  force  of 
habit,  did  not  the  same  party  attempt  to  make  others  on  my  account 
—others  for  whom  I  have  a  sincere  esteem — large  sharers  in  the  favor 
they  were  bestowing  upon  me.  I  believe,  Sir,  in  these  circumstances, 
that  silence  would  be  no  longer  a  duty. 

Passing  over  this  abuse,  permit  me.  Sir,  to  proceed  at  once  to  what 
they  have  assigned  as  its  causes.  First,  Dr.  Maginn  and  his  clergy 
joined  the  League ;  secondly,  letters  fiom  Dr.  Maginn  to  Smith 
O'Brien,  of  treasonable  import,  were  found  in  that  gentleman's  port- 
folio. The  first  is  a  palpable  falsehood,  the  second  is  not  less  false  ; 
aad  what  is  worse,  the  faction  knew  it  to  be  so,  when  they  proclaimed 
to  the  world  the  calumny.  Dr.  Maginn  and  'clergy  did  not  join  the 
League,  but  they  would  have  joined  it  on  the  express  conditions  of 
their  own  resolutions  that  Ireland's  regeneration  should  be  worked  out 


'^iijKSii* 


I 


160 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


by  means  peaceful,  purely  legitimate  and  Christian,  had  the  league 
coutiuucd  to  exist.  Their  only  regret  now  is  that  they  did  not  V' 
at  an  earlier  date,  as  tbeir  example  might  have  been  foUo'  uj 
others,  and  by  the  re-union  of  old  and  young,  and  the  concentration 
of  public  opinion  in  it ;  the  enthusiasm  of  the  rash  but  devoted  pa- 
triots of  the  country  would  have  been  constrained  and  directed  into 
proper  channels,  and  made  conducive  to  the  object  all  have  in  view — 
the  restoration  of  our  Irish  Parliament.  The  future  historian  of  our 
country,  if  he  be  not  of  the  class  of  the  Lelands  or  the  lying  Humes, 
will  denounce  our  tardiness  and  by  no  means  excuse  others  whose  po- 
sition in  Ireland  made  it  a  duty  for  them  to  take  the  lead.  It  would 
have  been,  I  acknowledge,  a  misfortune  for  this  vile  faction,  had  we 
left  aside  our  wicked  dissensions,  and  thus  peacefully  leagued  together ; 
for  their  hopes  of  plunder  and  ascendency  would  be  thereby  frustrated, 
rebellion  would  have  been  at  a  discount,  and  the  feast  of  blood  which 
they  hungered  and  thirsted  after,  they  could  not  even  enjoy  in  imagina- 
tion. 

Secondly.  It  is  equally  as  untrue  that  any  letters  of  mine,  abetting 
treason,  could  be  found  in  Mr.  O'Brien's  portfolio,  for  I  wrote  nooe 
such.  With  that  devoted  Irishman  I  had  very  little  correspondence, 
and  I  am  sure  he  must  say  none  of  a  treasonable  nature.  Indeed, 
whatever  correspondence  I  had  with  him  I  still  feel  honortd  by  it,  and 
the  one  letter  I  had  from  him  I  will  keep  by  me  as  a  sacred  treasure 
for  from  its  every  line  is  reflected  honor,  high-mindedness,  sincerity 
and  patriotism ;  and  if  I  could  form  an  opinion  from  my  brief  ac- 
quaintance of  him,  he  was  the  perfect  counterpart  of  the  Chevalier 
Bayard,  sans  pcur,  sans  reproche.  Posterity  will  do  him  justice,  and 
reverse  the  judgment  pronounced  upon  him.  It  will  pronounce  him 
not  disloyal  to  his  Queen,  but  devoted  to  his  country,  and  that  his  un- 
happy position  was  one  of  necessity,  and  not  of  choice.  But  to  return 
to  the  portfolio  :  If  there  have  been  in  it  such  letters  as  they  describe, 
why,  I  say,  are  they  not  produced?  They  blame  the  Earl  of  Clarendon 
for  not  producing  them,  while  they  are  quite  conscious  that  he  could 
not  produce  them.  They  call  on  the  good  Earl  to  prosecute  the  trai- 
tors. Are  not  they,  forsooth,  loyal  subjects  I  They  have  the  name  of 
the  Queen,  Church  and  Constitution  constantly  on  their  lips,  but  where 
is  their  courage  in  the  good  cause  'r  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  every  loyal 
subject  io  seize  on  the  t^  aitors,  and  bring  them  to  conviction  ?  They 
accuse  me  of  treason.    What  have  they  been  doing  for  the  last  two 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


161 


le  league 
ot  ^o'- 

eviration 
i^oted  pa- 
cted  iuto 
in  view — 
m  of  our 
I  Humes, 
vhoee  pe- 
lt would 
I,  had  we 
together ; 
'ustrated, 
lod  which 
imagiua- 

abettiQg 
ote  none 
)0Ddence, 

Indeed, 

>y  it,  and 

treasure 

sincerity 

rief  ao- 
hevalier 
|ticc,  and 
nee  him 

his  un- 
0  return 

escribe, 
larendou 

e  could 

he  trai- 
ame  of 

t  where 

y  loyal 

They 

st  two 


months?  They  could  have  found  me  any  time  since  at  my  residence. 
They  had  not  far  to  go  for  me.  Believe  me,  I  would  have  offered  them 
no  resistance.  Without  even  the  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus,  they 
might  have  had  my  body.  Was  it  their  good  wishes  for  a  Popish 
Bishop  that  restrained  them  ?  Was  it  their  forbearance  ?  Such,  in  this 
important  case,  would  be  surely  criminal.  What,  then,  was  it.  Sir  ? 
Their  loyalty  in  this  instu::ce  was  at  least  at  fault.  Oh  I  but  they 
waited  for  the  good  Earl  of  Clarendon  to  seize  on  the  traitors,  and 
bring  them  to  conviction.  .  Bat  what  if  the  Earl,  no  matter  how  dis- 
posed, could  not  safely  do  it  7  No  matter  ;  still  he  should  have  done 
It.  To  victimize  a  Popish  priest  or  bishop  was  not  surely  a  business 
of  ?^ch  moment  as  to  need  an  instant's  consideration.  But  if  the  Earl 
had  no  grounds?  No  matter  ;  still  the  Earl  should  have  gratified  them 
by  seizing  on  the  Bishop.  Exceedingly  bad  treatment  this,  on  the  part 
of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  of 'a  faction  who  so  kindly  proflfered,  not  to 
fight  the  battles  of  the  Queen — ^for  they  have  been  found  seldom  or 
never  on  the  side  of  their  legitimate  sovereigns — no ;  but  after  he 
had  won  the  battle,  to  be  in  for  the  stripping  of  the  dead,  the  hacking 
of  the  wounded  and  dying,  and,  like  dogs  and  vultures,  to  prey  on  the 
bodies  or  lap  the  blood  ot  the  slain.  What  an  ungrateful  executive  we 
have,  since  they  have  been  disappointed  of  the  carrion  to  have  refused 
them  a- live  bishop  or  two,  and  half-a-dozen  of  priests !  0  tempora  I  O 
mores  i  The  time  was  when  they  could  have  had  a  thousand  for  the 
asking  ;  but  now'this  Clarendon  whom  they  have  been  addressing  and 
covering  with  the  slaver  of  their  adulation,  whom  they  have  been  hail- 
ing throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  as  the  very  paragon 
of  viceroys,  will  not  indulge  this  ogre,  notwithstanding  its  ravenous 
bowlings,  with  even  a  Popish  curate  to  feed  upon.  But,  Sir,  to  be  se- 
rious, it  is  passing  strange  that  neither  time  nor  circumstances  can 
change  the  nature  of  this  ferocious  faction.  Qualis  ah  inccepto  servatur 
adimum.  It  was  born  amidst  treason,  cradled  in  rebellion,  and  fed 
from  its  infancy  upon  blood  and  plunder  ;  and  now,  after  three  hun- 
dred years  of  indulgence  in  rapacity,  spoliation  and  massacre,  its  appe- 
tite is  as  ravenous  as  ever.  The  reptile  of  the  East,  when  he  has  swal- 
lowed his  victims,  stretches  himself  on  the  earth,  and  satiated,  sinks 
into  repose ;  but  nothing.  Sir,  can  satiate  our  monster — it  never  re- 
poses. The  more  you  give  it  the  more  you  whet  lits  appetite.  Earth 
or  Heaven  have  scarcely  witnessed  its  count«^rpart.  The  Mamelukes 
of  Egypt,  the  Turkish  Janizaries,  can  be  only  likened  to  it  by  a  faint 


■  m  ■  I 


162 


LIFE   OF  BIGHT  REV.   EDWARD   MAGINN. 


resemblance.  \Vlien  compared  with  it,  a  little  prey  and  plunder  satis- 
fled  them  ;  but  our  monster — although  favored  with  the  tenth  of  the 
produce  and  the  three-fourths  of  the  land  of  the  kingdom  of  which  the 
lawful  possessors  were  robbed ;  although  they  have  almost  every  lucra- 
tive situation  in  the  country  ;  although  insurrection  after  insurrection 
was  provoked  by  them  or  got  for  their  profit ;  although  day  after  day 
its  rich  patron  and  neighbor  was  flinging  its  gold  into  its  throat ;  al- 
though, to  make  victims  for  it,  hell  itself  devised  its  penal  codes,  its 
racks,  its  halters,  its  scavengers  daughters'  courts  of  justice,  whei*e 
there  was  no  justice — packed  juries  and  perjured  judges — although  for 
it  was  devised  a  landlord  code  like  that  of  Draco,  steeped  in  tears  and 
written  in  characters  of  blood ;  although  mercy  and  equity  were  ex- 
iled from  the  land,  that  the  monster  through  it  might  career  with 
impunity  and  devour  the  natives  like  a  morsel  of  bread  ;  although  reli- 
gion's sacred  name  was  abused  for  them,  and  whatever  was  holy  in  it 
desecrated  to  their  service ;  although,  in  flne,  they  were  allowed  to  turn 
even  the  very  God  of  Heaven  to  their  profit,  and  to  nake  even  the 
Holy  One  to  hallow  and  stamp  with  his  sanction  their  iniquitous  spoli- 
ations and  robberies — they  are  still  dissatisfied.  They  still  cry  out  for 
more  victims,  more  spoliations,  more  rebellions,  more  massacres,  and 
as  the  most  savory  morsel  of  all,  a  Popish  pontiff  and  a  few  of  the 
Levites.  An  old  poet  will  finish  the  portrait  for  me,  and  if  it  be  uot 
f-ppropriate,  you.  Sir,  who  know  this  bane  of  our  country,  will  be  the 
judge.    [The  quotation  is  not  given  in  the  MS.] 

So  armed,  so  equipped,  and  so  fortified  with  everything  that  should 
make  it  secure  and  terrible,  yet  this  monster  is  ever  in  a  fearful  trepi- 
dation. Even  the  noiseless  zephyr  on  the  shadow  of  the  spider's  thread 
in  the  sunbeam,  makes  it  shudder.  It  lustily  cries  out  to  its  parent 
and  the  nurse  that  tended  it,  to  precipitate  themselves,  with  the  whole 
armory  of  despotism,  upon  its  beggared  and  half-famished  enemies. 
It  growls  and  it  bellows,  should  even  a  crumb  of  justice  be  extended  to 
them.  Extend  the  franchise  ever  so  little,  and  the  monster  cries,  "  I'm 
in  danger !"  Let  an  attempt  be  made  to  add  the  least  to  the  privileges 
of  any  town  or  city  in  the  land,  and  the  monster's  cry  is,  "  I'm  exceed- 
ingly in  danger !"  The  smallest  share  of  equity  to  the  miserable  serf 
or  cottier,  woe-stricken  the  monster  cries,  "  I'm  awfully  in  danger !" 
Let  but  some  humane  and  benevolent  person  propose  a  decent  provi- 
sion for  the  skeleton  poor,  and  the  monster  cries,  "  I'll  die  with  hun- 
ger!"    The  bare  thought  of  placing  the  outcast  and  the  homeless  wan- 


.:^~^i'^'-''. 


LIFfi  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGIXN. 


163 


should 

il  trepi- 

tLread 

pareat 

le  whole 

kemies. 

ided  to 

Is,  "  I'm 

tvileges 

jxceed- 

)le  serf 

[nger !" 

provi- 

th  hun- 

Bs  wan- 


derer on  the  wide  wastes  of  the  kingdom,  whereby  they  could  support 
themselves  and  others,  fills  the  monster  with  dismay  ;  and  justice  to 
Ireland,  charity  to  the  poor  and  the  needy,  love  of  man  to  man,  peace 
and  concord  and  harmony — the  bare  contemplation  of  such  things  in 
the  prospective,  makes  it  furious.  Its  thousand  tongues  are  set  to  roar ; 
it  lashes  with  its  tail,  tears  the  very  earth  that  fed  it  with  its  teeth  ; 
and  as  to  the  poor  wights  who  fertilized  that  earth  with  the  sweat  of 
"their  brows,  and  gave  to  the  monster,  in  the  way  of  rents  and  tithes, 
nearly  its  whole  produce,  they  are  repaid  for  their  pains  with  the  foul- 
est vituperations — are  styled  savages,  vermin,  rebels,  &c.,  &c.  i  find 
the  unhappy  ruler  who  could  even  think  of  doing  justice,  and  would 
dare  to  express  his  thoughts  on  that  subject,  must  be  prepared  to  be 
associated  with  Belial  against  God — of  hell  against  heaven.  Indeed, 
at  once  he  ceases  to  deserve  the  name  of  Christian,  and  if  the  monster 
is  to  be  believed,  to  become  nothing  less  than  an  infldel,  an  atheist,  a 
pantheist — without  a  heart  to  feel  or  a  soul  to  be  saved. 

But  the  strangest  thing  of  all  is,  this  monster  is  constantly  imputing 
to  others  disaffection,  treason,  rebellion— the  same  that  was  a  traitor 
from  the  beginning,  that  was  born  of  it,  tended  by  it,  and  hitherto 
sustained  by  its  treasonable  robberies — the  same  that  now  makes  a 
martyr  of  the  Charles  it  beheaded,  prayed  with  the  same  breath  for  a 
James  and  a  William,  balancing  iia  loyalty  on  the  chances  of  war ; 
now, "  God  bless  King  James !"  and  then,  as  fortune  veered, "  God  defend 
King  William !"  Preserve  us,  heaven,  from  sik  ii  loyalty  as  theirs !  The 
lip  service  of  hypocrisy  to  the  king,  iho  hear;  telt  homage  ever  paid  to 
its  own  interest,  a  traitor  to  its  country,  a  realtor  to  i's  king — influ- 
enced by  no  principle  of  love,  honor,  allegiance  or  doty — ever  turning 
around  the  personal  pronoun  I,  and  nof  '^'en  admitting  a  relative.  Its 
motto,  "  Yours  is  mine,  but  never  mine  is  yours."  No  devotion  to  the 
best  of  sovereigns,  except  so  far  as  they  feel  inclined  to  sacrifice  their 
duty  to  its  interests,  by  giving  up  the  glorious  appellation  of  being  the 
fathers  of  the  nation,  for  the  doubtful  one  of  patron  and  abettor  of  a 
faction. 

This,  Sir,  is  no  calumny.  It  is  written  as  clearly  as  if  with  a  pencil 
of  light  in  the  annals  of  this  unhappy  country.  James  I.  promises  to 
do  something  for  his  Irish  subjects-— witness  Usher's  reclamation.  A 
Charles  would  be  just  to  them — they  tlveaten  and  deseri  him.  A 
William  would  stand  by  his  treaties — it  growls,  intimidates,  and  di.ves 
him  into  their  violation.  A  George  IV.  is  advised  to  emancipate — the 
monster  exclaims.  You  will  thereby  forfeit  your  crown — foi/eit  our  al- 


164 


LIFE   OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


I 


I 

:      II 


1 1  i  I 


iii 


legiance  to  it,  as  it  will  infringe  on  your  coronation  oath.  A  William 
IV.  would  grant  a  Reform  Bill — the  monster  becomes  furious — no 
allegiance  of  even  a  single  rotten  borough  goes ;  and  when  reform  was 
conceded,  the  monster  seeks  revenge  on  the  ministry  that  abetted  it ; 
it  gathers  up  its  joints  to  a  hill  in  Down,  and  lustily  howls  its  treason, 
that  Melbourne  must  go  out  or  it  will  fight  the  battle  of  the  Boyne 
over  again. 

What  short  memories,  or,  at  least,  indulgent  memories,  it  supposes 
the  people  of  this  country  to  have,  when  it  could  imagine  that  a  veil 
of  'Oblivion  was  forever  drawn  over  these  criminalities.  But,  Sir,  what 
is  worse  still,  its  treasonable  propensities  can  not  be  excused  by  the 
passion  of  bygone  days  |  its  recent  concocted  treason  against  the  bo- 
loved  sovereign  of  these  realms,  while  yet,  I  may  say,  a  child,  has  all 
the  freshness  of  youth  about  it.  And  0,  Sir,  it  was  a  foul  treason ! — a 
treason  against  a  supposed  helpless  orphan,  and  this  orphan  a  female ; 
and  what  made  the  crime  still  more  heinous,  they  conspired  to  enthrone 
infamy  in  the  place  of  innocence — a  hideous  caricature  of  befouled, 
shattered  humanity,  instead  of  the  young,  lovely,  virtuous  being,  whose 
right  was  even  hallowed  by  her  weak,  unprotected  condition,  and  made 
sacred  by  the  duty  of  the*Christian  as  well  as  of  the  subject.  We  re- 
member well,  Sir.  0  we  could  not  forget  the  pretext  of  the  monster 
for  its  vile  iniquity !  viz.,  the  interests  of  society,  forsooth !  A  disgrace 
it  was,  to  be  sure,  that  a  woman  should  reign  over  this  great  empire. 
Come,  Sir,  let  those  who  would  brand  us  as  traitors  produce  Fairman'g 
portfolio,  their  correspondence  with  the  military  in  Canada  ;  let  them 
reveal  the  secrete  of  their  "lodges,"  of  their  committees,  of  their  grand 
masters,  their  petty  masters,  its  chaplains,  its  treasurers,  I  am  much 
afraid,  if  they  did,  thai  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien's  portfolio  would  cut  but  a 
poor  figure,  in  the  way  of  treason,  beside  Fairman's  bag,  and  that  the 
felonious  secrets  of  the  Confederation  for  the  Restoration  of  an  Irish 
Parliament  would  be  scarcely  a  faint  image  of  the  giant  felony  they 
concocted.  Whenever  treason  is  mentioned,  the  monster  should  retire 
to  his  den  and  cover  itself  with  the  veil  of  its  shame  and  confusion,  if 
indeed  the  monster  can  have  any  such  thing  as  shame  and  confusion  ; 
and  at  the  souud  of  any  reproach  upon  the  name  of  the  Queen,  they 
should  recollect  and  tremble,  as  memory  rushed  upon  it,  with  the  foul 
epithet  they  affixed  to  a  fame  as  white  as  the  ermiaie,  and  as  bright  in 
its  lustre  as  thj  unsullied  crystal — the  epithet  of  tae  wicked  Jezabel. 
The  heart  still  recoils  even  at  the  contemplation  of  the  i/arefacod  trea- 
sons of  the  monster,  and  is  shocked  at  the  impudence  with  which  it 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


165 


raises  its  serpentine  crest,  and  witli  a  hiss,  spits  i^s  own  foul  guilt  upon 
others,  who  would  have  died  to  preserve  the  rights  c^  the  sovereign  it 
would  betray.  I  sincerely  regret.  Sir,  the  trespass  I  have  so  far  made 
on  your  patience  and  that  of  the  public.  You  will  find  its  apology  in 
the  circumstances  giving  occasion  to  it.  I  have  proved  the  monster  a 
traitor,  indeed  when  it  had  the  least  confidence  of  success.  I  have 
proved  it  to  have  ever  been  a  traitor  in  will,  and  only  shrinking  from 
treason  ^hen  treason  became  dangerous  to  its  interests.  I  have  proved 
it  to  have  never  had  any  other  God  but  self,  any  other  king  but  mam- 
mon, any  other  allegiance  to  any  one  thing  but  to  privileged  rapacity. 
I  now  fliug  defiance  at  the  monster,  and  dare  it  lo  prove  any  word  or 
deed  of  mine  adverse  to  the  lawful  sovereign  of  this  realm,  or  to  pro- 
duce from  Smith  O'Brien's  portfolio,  or  any  other,  any  letter  of  mine 
exciting  to  treason  or  rebellion.  But  this  it  will  not  dare  to  do — not 
for  want  of  will,  for  I  know  it  has  the  will  for  anything,  no  matter  how 
atrocious — but  for  want  of  means  to  accomplish  its  bloodthirsty  wishes. 
I  have,  Sir,  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  had  it  the  mesms  within  its 
reach  of  carrying  out  its  guilty  purposes,  it  would  level  our  churches 
to  the  ground,  massacre  our  priests  and  people,  make  a  solitude  for  its 
own  gratification  and  call  it  peace  ;  for  it  is  the  indoles  of  such  mon- 
sters to  delight  in  deserts  and  to  roam  in  wastes.  And  with  respect  to 
treason  and  rebellion,  I  have  less  hesitation  again  in  asserting,  fur  I 
know  it  to  be  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  that  such 
things  would  have  been  ever  unheard-of  in  this  country,  were  it  not  for 
the  atrocities  of  this  monster.  The  English  people  are  daily  being 
made  tlie  monster's  dupes.  The  rulers  of  this  land  scarcely  appear 
on  its  surface  when  it  envelopes  them  in  its  coils  and  inveigles  them  in 
ite  snares,  and  fascinates  them  by  its  deceitful  blandishments.  Ireland 
it  defames — the  Irish  people  it  calumniateE^  and  misrepresents.  No 
matter  how  well-disposed,  the  ruler,  in  a  short  time,  sees  everything 
through  the  monster's  spectacles ;  and  the  fairest  land  under  heaven, 
and  the  most  virtuous  people,  if  fairly  dealt  with,  put  on  the  hideous 
shape  and  form,  assume  the  jaundice  complexion  which  this  foul  me- 
dium of  vision  exhibits.  The  present  viceroy  was  the  finest  boy  alive 
while  he  busied  hiuMelf  for  it,  in  cramming  the  kingdom  with  sabres 
and  cannon,  with  spies  and  detectives,  in  suspending  the  habeas  corpus 
and  the  liberty  of  person  and  of  speech,  and  held  out  to  them  the  pros- 
pect of  immediate  carnage  :  but  the  instant  he  showed  signs  of  return- 
ing reason,  and  began  to  feel  that  his  character  would  be  forever  dam- 
aged by  consorting  with  such  a  reptile,  and  that  he  could  not  gratify 


,*»• 


1  ; 
+ 


It  .♦ 


;iil! 


166 


LIFE   OF  RIGHT  PEV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


it  with  anything  less  than  wholesale  devastation  and  torrents  of  blood ; 
the  instant  it  perceived  that  it  could  not  do  with  impunity  as  it  waa 
^ont — that  it  would  not  be  allowed  to  have  its  martial  law  to  confound 
the  innocent  with  the  guilty  and  expedite  the  wished-for  destruction 
of  the  Irish  priest  and  peasant  at  its  discretion,  as  this  would  not  do 
for  England's  prosperity  or  for  Ireland's  peace — that  it  could  not  burn 
down  at  its  good  pleasure  the  poor  man's  cabin  or  conQscate  the  rich 
man's  property — that  the  Earl  would  not  join  it  in  shooting,  for  its 
amusement,  the  people — the  instant  his  better  nature  seemed  to  revolt 
at  the  thought  of  iiflfordiEg  the  monster  the  fiendish  indulgence  it  cal- 
culated upon,  instead  of  the  best,  he  becomes  one  of  the  worst  viceroys 
we  ever  had — altogether  too  good  a  boy  for  it,  incapable  of  conceiving. 
much  less  doing,  the  infamous  work  it  had  traced  out  for  hltn.  Hence 
it  is,  that  him  whom  they  crowned  with  flowers,  they  would  i;ow  send 
to  the  gallies,  and  whom  they  raised  upon  a  pyramid  of  fulsome  adu- 
lations, they  would  condemn  to  the  gibbet  with  an  Ilictor  aligu  ad 
palum.  Yes,  my  Lord  Clarendon,  you  and  party  were  too  good  for  it ; 
the  measure  of  your  perverseness  fell  short  of  their  iniquitous  bushel. 
You  had  too  much  wisdom  or  too  much  of  the  milk  of  human  nature 
for  it;  therefore  it  is  that  they  now  say,  "  Away  with  himl" — away 
with  you.  The  fact  of  its  hatred  of  you  is  beginning  to  make  others 
who  love  their  country  more  than  themselves,  think  the  more  of  you, 
and  have  better  confidence  in  you,  as  they  know  that  there  must  be 
something  noble  and  generous  about  you — some  relic  of  the  Divine 
image  within  you — some  kind  disposition  towards  our  country  and  its 
people,  when  you  could  thus  have  earned  for  yourself  this  monster's 
detestation.  I  say  this  not  as  the  Earl's  flatterer ;  I  would  hate  my- 
self were  I  capable  of  being  his  or  any  other  man's  adulator.  No.  I 
say  it  because  this  monster  never  loved  anything  but  what  was  base 
and  truculent  and  barbarous,  and  never  y^t  hated  anything  that  had 
not  some  traits  of  goof'.'oss,  ir; partiality  and  benignity  about  it. 

I  should  not,  Sir,  noiwithstanding  the  length  that  this  letter  has 
grown  upon  me,  take  iny  leave  of  you  wiihont  affording  the  reptile  I 
have  been  describing  e, -.m  still  some  further  excuse  for  its  calumnies  ; 
for  I  delight  to  have  such  beings  ray  calumniators.  Permit  me,  then, 
Sir,  to  broadly  state,  in  the  teeth  of  the  monster,  that  I  am  by  no 
means  satisfied  with  things  as  tliey  are  ;  that  I  am  disaffected  and  oHs- 
satisfied  with  almost  everything  I  see  around  me,  but  the  piety  and 
the  patience  of  my  poor  people  ;   that  I  abominate  the  relation  in 


LIFE   OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN. 


167 


Iter  has 
?ptile  I 
Imnies ; 
i,  then, 
by  no 
Ind  oHs- 
ky  and 
pion  In 


which  the  tenant  serf  is  made  to  stand  to  his  taskmaster ;  that  I  detest 
the  manner  in  which  the  hiws  are  generally  administered  in  this  coun- 
try, in  favor  of  a  party  against  the  nation ;  that  I  reprobate,  with  all 
the  powers  of  my  soul,  the  exclusion  of  the  Irish  Catholic  from  the 
jury-box — a  practice  but  too  common  for  centuries,  in  the  East,  the 
West,  the  North  and  South,  and  for  which  the  present  Attorney-Gen- 
eral does  not  want  a  precedent,  as  he  can  find  it  in  almost  every  court 
in  the  kingdom.  I  am  wholly  dissatisfied  with  an  alien  church  estab- 
lishment, the  upas  tree  that  has  poisoned  every  fountain  stream  of 
social  life  and  bliss  throughout  the  country — a  fatal,  hideous  prodigy, 
that  has  no  equal  in  monstrosity.  I  am,  sir,  heartily  dissatisfied  with 
that  misrule  which  has  made  our  beautiful  island  a  lazar-house,  and 
filled  our  graveyards  to  bursting  with  the  bodies  of  our  famished 
people.  I  am  by  no  means  satisfied  with  the  vile  abuse  poured  out  in 
torrents  every  day  upon  my  long  suffering  country  and  countr^'mcn  5 
and  short  of  an  insurrection  against  the  Queen — for  this,  in  principle, 
I  could  not  as  a  Christian  approve  of,  nor  as  a  lover  of  my  country 
recommend — I  would  use  any  and  every  means  that  heaven  could 
sanction,  to  remove  these  nuisances  and  pull  down  the  colossal  iniqui- 
ties that  cumber  the  land.  Should  there  be  any  person  in  Ireland  sat- 
isfied with  things  as  they  are,  be  he  priest  or  layman,  or  bishop  01 
ruler,  he  is  an  infidel  in  his  heart  who  does  not  believe  in  the  existence 
of  a  just  God,  a  traitor  to  the  land  he  lives  in,  and  effectually  a  traitor  to 
Queen  Victoria,  who  should  be  revered  as  the  best  of  England's  sov- 
ereigns since  the  Reformation  ;  and  to  supply  a  still  further  reason  for 
the  monstrous  hatred  and  vituperation.  1  tell  it  to  his  face  *  •  *  [p'our 
pages  are  missing  in  the  MS.  It  concludes  :] — that  in  despite  of  it, 
no  matter  how  it  may  twist  and  turn,  growl  and  bellow  and  bark, 
some  Hercules  will  shortly  be  found  to  cleanse  the  Augean  stable,  and 
remove  the  aforesaid  nuisances,  and  that  the  time  will  very  soon  arrive 
when  the  monster's  own  fangs  will  be  extracted,  its  teeth  pulled,  ita 
nails  pared,  and  shorn  of  its  strength,  and  allowed  to  die  off  amidst 
the  plaudits  of  a  redeemed  nation,  cast  as  a  loathsome  thing  upon  the 
earth  it  cursed,  be  strangled  bj'  the  very  parent  that  produced  it,  and 
the  nurse  that  tended  it.  But  yet  a  little  while,  and  that  God  who 
gave  our  people  centuries  of  adversity,  tried  them  and  found  tliem 
faithful,  will  also  give  theni  their  trial  of  prosperity.  In  the  interim, 
let  them  hope  on  ;  for  God  is  just,  though  patient,  and  long-enduring 
because  he  is  eternal.     Our  strength,  however,  like  that  of  the  primi- 


!  il 


168 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


five  Christians  as  described  by  TertuIIian,  is  on  our  knees,  and  our 
trust  in  the  equity  of  heaven,  always  sure,  no  matter  how  long  de- 
layed. Hi  in  eurribua,  et  hi  in  equia  ;  noa  autem  in  nor/iine  Dotnini  Dei 
noatri  invocabimua.    Psalms,  xix. :  8. 

I  remain,  Sir,  your  faithful  servant, 

>{«  Edward  Maoinn. 
DoBLiN  Oastub,  October  3,  1848. 

My  Lord, — I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  Lordship's 
letter  of  the  26th  ultimo,  and  which,  being  marked  "  private,"  I  pro- 
Bume  it  was  not  your  intention  should  be  treated  by  me  as  an  official 
document. 

I  must  in  the  first  instance  assure  your  Lordship  that  you  do  me  but 
justice  in  believing  "  that  I  should  feel  deeply  pained  at  anything 
tending  to  reflect  on  the  character  of  a  minister  of  the  religion  which 
I  profess — a  minister  especially  of  the  station  of  your  Lordship  in  the 
Church.  I  feel  how  much  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  body  in  Ire- 
land depend  upon  the  clergy  of  our  religion  preserving  the  character 
which  belongs  to  ministers  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace,  and  that  anything 
indicating  a  different  course  of  conduct  on  their  part  could  not  but  be 
viewed  by  me,  and  I  believe  every  sincere  Catholic,  with  the  deepest 
regret.  In  reference,  however,  lo  the  immediate  cause  of  your  Lord- 
ship's addressing  me,  I  must  at  once  state  that,  having  no  knowledge, 
and  not  believing  that  "  any  letter  or  letters  bearing  your  signature 
and  inciting  Mr.  O'Brien  and  others  to  rebel  against  her  Majesty, 
were  found  in  the  portfolio  of  that  gentleman,"  I  cannot  but  come  to 
the  conclusion,  that  your  correspondent  has  been  misinformed  in 
stating  that  "  some  person  high  in  authority  ia  the  Castle  "  had  made 
a  communication  that  such  was  the  fact.  This  I  think  entirely  dis- 
poses of  the  matter,  as  far  as  the  letter  of  your  correspondent  has 
induced  your  Lordship,  not  unnaturally,  to  make  vindication  c.  your 
character  from  charges  of  so  serious  and  grave  a  nature,  and  which 
to  an  innocent  mind  must  have  been  deeply  galling.  I  dismiss, 
equally  with  your  Lordship,  all  consideration  of  what  may  have  been 
stated  in  the  public  prints,  as  I  have  at  all  times  considered  that  those 
who  are  conscious  of  the  rectitude  of  their  own  conduct  can  well 
afford  to  disregard  the  attacks  of  such  concealed  adversaries. 

Having  stated  thus  much,  your  Lordship  will  see  that  it  is  unneces- 
aary  for  ma  to  refer  to  the  details  with  which  you  have  favored  me,  of 
your  intercourse  with  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien  since  your  first  acquaintance 
with  him  ;  and  if  I  decline  to  make  any  observations  upon  the  more 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAOINN. 


169 


general  question  referred  to  in  your  letter,  namely,  the  position  of 
Ireland  as  a  portion  of  the  United  Kingdom,  I  trust  that  you  will  not 
a.'tribute  it  to  any  want  of  respect  for  your  Lordship,  but  because  I 
do  noi  feel  that  any  good  would  result  from  my  doing  so. 

I  cannot,  however,  conclude,  without  offering  a  remark  upon  the 
Postscript  to  your  Lordship's  letter,  and  for  which  that  communication 
itself  had  not  indeed  prepared  me. 

The  course  which  }'ou  may  feel  it  due  to  your  character  to  take  in 
reference  to  the  "  Derry  Sentinel,"  is  quite  a  matter  for  your  Lord- 
ship's consideration  ;  but  the  challenge  which  you  appear  to  give  to 
the  Lord  Lieutenant  to  accept  the  occasion  for  making  your  Lordship 
"  a  victim — ns  expiation  to  the  wounded  feelings  of  imperial  misrule" 
— is,  you  must  allow  me  to  say,  in  my  opinion,  uncalled  for.  I  can 
confidently  assure  your  Lordsliip  that  it  is  no  more  the  desire  than  it 
is  in  the  power  of  the  distinguished  nobleman  entrusted  with  tlie 
Government  of  this  country,  to  make  any  person  victim*  to  aught  save 
the  consequences  which  the  laws  entail  upon  their  crimes ;  and,  while 
on  the  one  hand  it  cannot  but  be  painful  to  all  to  see  those  expose  them- 
selves to  the  severe  penalties  of  the  law,  whose  position  should  have 
led  them  rather  to  maintain  than  de  troy  the  allegiance  due  to  their 
sovereign,  yet  your  Lordship  will,  I  am  sure,  admit  that  the  equal 
justice  which  should  be  meted  out  to  all  will  require  that  where  the 
guilt  is  known  to  exist,  the  position  of  the  individual,  however  exalted, 
should  not  screen  him  from  merited  punishment.  Such  a  course  you 
will  not,  I  am  satisfied,  consider  as  one  deserving  of  reproach,  or 
which  it  would  be  discreditable  that  history  should  record  of  any 
administi'ation  ;  and  under  the  assurance  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Government  will  be  guided  by  such  feelings,  your  Lordship  will 
readily  perceive  that  none  but  those  who  have  participated  in  the 
crime  need  fear  its  punishment. 

As  regards  the  events  which  have  occurred,  I  can  only  assure  your 
Lordship  that  I  have  felt  much  gratified  at  the  loyal  resistance  which 
was  offered  by  the  Catholic  clergy,  both  at  Ballingarry  and  Mullina- 
hone,  to  the  rebellious  movements  which  have  recently  taken  place  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  and  that  when  the  opportunity  was  thus 
offered,  the  clergy  of  our  Church  have  shown  their  determination  to 
support  the  cause  of  order  and  of  peace. 

Begging  your  Lordship  will  excuse  the  length  of  this  reply, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  my  lord,  your  faithful  servant, 
Right  Rev,  Dr.  Maginn,  &c.,  &c ,  &c.  T.  N.  Redinoton 


170 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT  REV.   EDWARD  MAGINK. 


The  high  spirit  exhibited  in  this  correspondence  at  a 
period  of  universal  panic  and  despondency,  ;3  one  of 
the  most  admirable  traits  in  the  character  of  our  subject. 
His  deep  and  undisguised  sympathy  with  the  unfortu- 
nate victims  of  rash  counsels,  is  equally  to  his  honor. 
Among  his  letters  are  congratulations  to  Mr.  Dillon,  of 
Balagliadeerin,  on  the  escnpe  of  his  brother,  Mr.  John 
B.  Dillon,  to  America,  and  fervent  thanks  from  Arch- 
deacon McCarron  for  the  kind  interest  he  had  taken  in 
the  case  of  Dr.  Wm.  McCarron,  for  some  time  a  prisoner 
in  Newgate  for  the  same  cause.  The  present  writer, 
who  sailed  from  Derry  on  the  1st  of  September  of  that 
year,  has  especial  reason  to  remember  Dr.  Maginn's 
friendliness ;  for,  although  personally  he  did  not  appear, 
as  he  should  not,  in  any  of  the  arrangements  for  that 
escape,  some  of  his  kind  ai  i  courageous  clergy  were 
the  chief  promoters  of  it.  Forever  cold  must  be  the 
heart  that  dictates  these  lines,  before  it  ceases  to  beat  in 
grateful  response  to  the  names  of  Derry  and  Maginn  I 


CO  at  a 
one  of 
subject, 
anfortu- 
I  honor. 
iUon,  of 
[r.  John 
n  Arch- 
taken  in 
prisoner 
,  writer, 
r  of  that 
!^aginn'a 
;  appear, 
for  that 
were 
be  the 
beat  in 
Iginn  I 


CHATT'         VIII. 

T)R.  MAOINN's  FIXAL  VISITATION  OF  HIS  DIOCESE — THE  PROPOSED 
PROVINCIAL  SYNODS  AND  CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY — DR.  MAGINN's 
LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH — GENERAL  SORROW  EXPRESSED  BY 
THE  CATHOLIC  BODY— HIS  FUNERAL — HIS  CHARACTER  AND  GENIUS 
— TRIBUTES   TO  HIS  MEMORY  AT  HOME   AND    ABROAD. 

The  good  news  from  Rome,  in  October,  '48,  of  the 
renewed  condemnation  of  the  Queen's  Colleges,  com- 
pensated the  patriot  Prelates,  to  some  extent,  for  the 
dismal  social  prospects  of  the  country.  On  the  10th  of 
October,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Bishops  was  held  at 
Dublin,  but  nothing  of  importance,  beyond  the  reception 
of  the  Rescripts,  and  a  resolution  implicitly  to  obey 
them,  transpired.  Drs.  MacHale  and  O'Higgins  had  not 
yet  arrived  home,  and  Dr.  Maginn  was  engaged  in  the 
annual  visitation  of  his  diocese.  The  party  (if  we  may 
be  pardoned  the  term)  who  had  defeated  the  govern- 
ment, and  secured  for  their  course  the  cordial  approba- 
tion of  Rome,  were  represented  by  Drs.  Cantwell  and 
McNally.  It  appeared  that  the  favorers  of  the  govern- 
ment plan  comprised  two  Archbishops  and  seven  Bish- 


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172 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  BEY.  EDWABD  MAOINN. 


ops — one-third  of  the  Hierarchy,  One  or  two  of  the 
names  created  great  astonishment  among  the  oppug- 
nants,  as  they  had  reason  to  believe  that  they  were 
strongly  on  their,  and  against  the  other  side. 

The  satisfaction  of  the  successful  appellants  to  Borne, 
may  be  imagined.  ,  They  had  countermined,  for  the 
time,  at  least,  the  approaches  of  •British  intrigue  to  the 
Vatican ;  they-  had  overcome,  and  then  incorporated,  a 
formidable  defection  in  their  own  Order ;  they  had  de- 
feated an  empire ;  they  had  rescued  a  nation.  ^  Dr.  Ma- 
ginn,  on  the  9th  of  November,  writes  to  Dr.  McNally : 

"  I  had  not  a  word  from  you  dace  the  great  yictory  gained  over  the 
enemies  of  our  faith.  I  expected  to  have  had  a  line  of  congratulation 
from  you  on  the  subject.  Tou  had,  of  course,  a  letter  from  the  good 
Bishop  of  Ardagh,  ^ving  a  detailed  account  of  the  episcopal  corres- 
pondence." 

Dr.  Cantwell  writes  to  Dr.,Maginn,  a  few  days  later: 

"  Never  had  Prelates  a  greater  triumph  or  more  powerful  motives  for 
congratulation,  than  have  been  afforded  to  us  by  the  late  Rescript. 
The  immortal  Pius  IX.  has,  in  its  comprehensiveness  and  firmness  of 
tone,  surpassed  even  himself.  It  goes  farther  than  we  could  have  at 
all  anticipated.  It  annihilates  the  power  of  England  ever  agiun  to 
enslave  our  Church,  and  silences  forever  the  treacherous  whisperings 
of  any  feeble  or  false  member  of  our  body  with  the  enemies  of  our 
faith  and  the  murderers  of  our  people.  The  best  mode  of  marking  our 
gratitude  for  this  noble  act  of  heroism  is,  as  your  Lordship  says  in  your 
favor  of  the  19th,  to  carry  into  effect,  without  delay,  the  recommenda- 
tions of  His  Holiness.'' 

To  carry  into  effect  the  recommendations  of  the  Pon- 
tiff, it  was  decided  to  hold  Erovincial  Synods  of  th§  four 


LIFE  or  RIGHT  TIKV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


173 


of  the 

oppug- 

jy  were 

)  Borne, 
for  the 
i  to  the 
>rated,  a 
had  de- 
Dr.  Ma- 
Nally :. 

A  oyer  the 
pratalation 
1  the  good 
k)al  correB> 

later : 

)tive8  for 

Rescript, 
rmness  of 
have  at 

again  to 
[hiBperings 
lies  of  our 

rking  our 
lys  in  your 
lommenda- 

uie  Pon- 
th§  four 


Provinces,  to  which  was  subsequently  added  the  idpa 
of  the  National  Synod,  afterwards  held  at  Thurles. 
The  Archbishop  of  Cashel  proposed,  in  a  circular  letter, 
that  each  Bishop  should  appoint  one  Priest,  to  meet  as 
a  Committee,  collect  information,  and  report  on  the  de- 
tails of  the  ceremonial  to  be  observed  and  the  business 
to  be  done.  To  this  Dr.  McNally,  among  others,  ob- 
jected its  novelty  and  irregularity;  but  Dr.  Maginn, 
Dr.  Cantwell,  and  the  majority  of  their  friends,  gave 
their  sanction.  Out  of  the  proposed  National  Synod 
was  to  spring  a  more  uniform  discipline — a  more  solemn 
observance  of  canonical  regulations,  and  the  great  prac- 
tical demonstration  of  Ireland's  unshaken  Orthodoxy — 
the  Catholic  University. 

In  the  preliminaries  of  all  these  grand  and  beneficent 
designs.  Dr.  Maginn  took  the  liveliest  interest,  although 
laboring  under  the  illness  of  which  he  soon  afterwards 
died.  "We  first  hear  of  this  in  his  letter  last  quoted, 
(November  9,) : 

"  I  am  just  after  returning,"  he  writes,  **  from  the  visitation,  some- 
-what  fatigued  ;  yet  notwithstanding  much  exertion,  very  little  the 
worse  for  it.  I  was  very  unwell  at  starting,  but  daily  improved  as  I 
weni  along.  I  confirmed  upwards  of  six  thousand  children.  This,  at 
any  rate,  is  a  satisfaction,  even  should  this  winter  close  their  or  our 
earthly  career  V 

These  strangely  prophetic  words  strike  one  with  awe, 
when  we  remember,  that  within  two  months  of  their 
date,  while  the  winter  still  raged  along  the  wild  northern 


174 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGIKN. 


coast,  the  writer  lay  on  his  bed  of  death.  On  the  28th 
of  November  he  writes  from  Buncrana,  that  he  has  been 
worse,  and  was  unable  to  go  to  Derry  "  to  lay  the  foun- 
dation stone  of  our  new  school- house."  On  the  13th  of 
January,  four  days  before  his  decease,  he  wrote  to  his' 
old  schoolfellow  and  life-long  friend,  the  Bishop  of 
Clogher,  the  following  cheerful  and  affectionate  letter — 
the  last,  we  believe,  he  ever  penned : 

DR.   MAGINN  TO  DR.   m'nALLT. 

Buncrana,  January  13,  1849. 

My  Dear  Good  Lord, — ^I  have  just  time  to  drop  you  a  line  before 
starting  for  Derry.  I  am  happy  to  have  to  inform  you  that  I  am 
much  better,  and  ready  for  a  new  campaign.  I  prepared  about  ten 
days  ago  to  start  for  Clogher,  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  for  a 
night  and  conversing  vrith  your  Lordship,  but  vraa  prevented  from 
going  from  an  attack  of  influenza,  \inder  which  I  may  say  I  have 
since  labored  up  till  yesterday.  I  had  a  letter  from  Dr.  Cantwell  last 
night  He  is  most  anxious  about  a  Provinci<)l  Synod,  but  considers  it 
better  to  put  it  off  until  after  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Higgins.  The  Gov- 
ernment are  in  advance  of  us,  and  considering  our  means,  it  will  take 
us  to  move  very  rapidly,  and  at  the  same  time  very  cautiously,  to 
overtake  them. 

Dr.  Cantwell  requested  me  to  sound  the  Primate  on  th  ^-'^ject  of 
an  immediate  meeting,  to  put  the  intrusion  on  the  necessi ',  'laving 
a  uniform  discipline  during  the  approaching  Lent,  &e...  &c. 

I  would  much  sooner  that  your  Lordship  could  be  induced  to  cor- 
respond with  his  Grace  on  the  subject,  as  it  would  come  better  from 
you  in  every  respect.  The  week  after  next,  I  will,  if  possible,  be  up 
to  see  you,  and  spend  a  couple  of  nights.  I  fondly  hope  that  your 
health  is  good,  and  that  your  extraordinary  labors  throughout  the 
summer  have  left  it  unimpaired. 

I  had,  about  ten  days  ago,  a  couple  of  letters  from  Rome.  There 
was  nothing  important  in  them.  Dr.  CuUen  was  much  afraid  of 
the  assassins,  which  shows  the  condition  of  the  Eternal  City,  when 
even  such  innocence  as  Dr.  Cullen's  could  not  be  safe  from  the  Asas- 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


175 


tin's  knife.    I  send,  with  my  most  respectful  compliments,  a  parse  to 

Miss  MoNa^Iy.  i 

Wishing  your  Lordship  many  happy  returns  of  this  holy  season, 

nd  every  blessing,  I  remain,  my  dear  Lord,  ever, 

Faithfully  and  most  affectionately  yours, 

^Edward  Maoinn 
The  Most  Rev.  Dr.  McNally. 

The  handwriting  employed  is  that  of  his  curate,  Rev. 
Mr.  Devlin,  who  was  his  most  frequent  amanuensis  in 
his  latter  d§ys.  The  language,  of  course,  is  all  his  own. 
The  day  or  the  day  after  this  letter  was  written,  he  camo 
into  Derry,  and  finding  liimself  worse,  he  took  to  his 
bed,  in  St.  Columb's  College.  On  Wednesday,  the  17th, 
the  physicians  in  attendance  gave  up  all  hope  of  his 
recovery,  and  at  half-past  two  o'clock  on  that  day,  his 
soul  departed  to  the  judgment-seat  of  God. 

The  intelligence  of  this  most  unexpected  termination 
of  a  bright  career,  struck  with  profound  sadness  every 
lover  of  Ireland  and  every  faithful  son  of  the  Church 
gihr^ghout  all  the  English-speaking  regions  of  the  earth.* 
The  sorrow  was  deepest  at  its  source — ^in  his  own  dio- 
cese- and  province;  but  it  was  national,  and,  in  a  sense, 
universal  as  the  Church  itself.  His  sudden  celebrity, 
the  black  background  of  Calvinism  against  which  his 
northern  light  had  shone,  the  generosity  of  his  nature, 
apparent  in  all  his  public  as  well  as  private  acts,  had 
made  him  an  object  of  love  as  well  as  of  hope  and  ex- 
pectation.   His  still  young  age — only  53 :  his  country 


,..„..,;.  A:ift:'.^! 


176 


LIFE  OF  BIGHT  KEY.  EDWARD  ICAGINN. 


had  just  lost  by  death,  disgust  or  banishment,  the  first 

generation  of  public  men  which  this  century  ha(f  yielded, 

and  a  great  many  of  the  second.    She  was  low — very 

low ;  she  lay  in  the  dust  and  refused  to  be  lifted  up, 

when  he  appeared — 

'-  WhoBe  thrilling  tramp  oould  wake  the  land 
When  fraud  or  danger  were  at  hand  t" 

No  wonder  Ireland  mourned  for  him  with  the  un- 
measured grief  of  a  mothej  made  desolate.  In  Dublin 
his  loss  was  not  less  truly  deplored  than  in  Derry ;  in 
Cork  as  eloquently  as  in  either.  It  was  a  national  grief 
which  overswept  all  provincial  and  diocesan  bounda- 
ries. In  England  and  in  America  also,  he  had  many 
mourners.  One  of  the  first  of  those  to  condole  with  his 
bosom  friend,  Dr.  McNally,  was  the  venerable  Bishop 
of  Beverley,  whose  letter  we  here  give : 

York,  Jan.  21,  1849. 
My  dear  Lord — What  most  sad  and  most  deplorable  intelligenQ|^a^||^ 
reached  me  to-day,  in  the  irreparable  loss  of  the* truly  illustrious  Dr. 
Maginn !  I  cannot  tell  you  what  a  thunderbolt  it  was  to  me,  and  what 
a  deep  pang  it  inflicted  on  my  heatt.  I  loved  him  dearly.  I  loved 
him  for  his  witrm  patriotism,  and  for  his  bold  advocacy  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Church.  Ireland  has  lost  a  host  in  poor  Dr  Maginn. 
**  Doleo  tuper  te,f rater  mi  t  Qwmodo  oeeidit  robitstta  et  pfrierunt  arm  a 
belliea.**  Truly  may  we  say  the  champion  of  religion  has  fallen  ;  his 
shield  is  thrown  away,  and  the  Irish  people,  in  the  time  of  greatest 
need,  are  suddenly  stripped  of  his  most  powerful  protection.  Truly 
may  poor  Ireland  say,  "  Sieut  mater  unicum  amatjilium  nimn^  ita  ego 
te  diligeham"  and  to  Ireland's  people  would  I  say,  "  Plangent  eum 
plandu,  quasi  tuper  umgenitum.*^    And  this  they  will  do.    Pray  do 


LIFE  OF  RIOnT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAOINN 


177 


le  first 
ielded, 
—very 
3d  up, 


be  un- 
Dublin 
ry;  in 
1  grief 
ounda- 
many 
ith  his 
bishop 

1849. 

OQS  Dr. 

id  what 

I  loved 

le  inde* 

kfaginn. 

ntarma 

en  ;  his 

H'eatest 

Truly 

ita  ego 

nt  cum 

ray  do 


give  in«  some  partioulars  of  this  most  lamentable  event.    My  feelings 

will  not  allo^  me  to  say  more.        My  dear  Lord,  ' ' 

Truly  and  afieotionately  yours, 

t^ion^  Briogs. 
Most  Rev.  Dr.  MoNally. 

The  funeral  ceremonial  was  solemn  as  the  Churcli 
requires,  and  popular  as  the  people's  hearts  could  wish. 
During  Thursday  and  Friday,  the  citizens  of  Derry  and 
strangers  were  allowed  to  see  the  body  as  it  lay  in  epis- 
copal state,  at  the  College.  On  Monday  morning  it  was 
removed  to  the  Cathedral,  where  the  solemn  services  for 
the  dead  were  performed.  For  these  last  melancholy 
details  of  our  story,  we  must  borrow  the  language  of 
the  Derry  and  Dublin  newspapers.  The  Londonderry 
Journal^  in  announcing  the  death,  says : 

"  A  melancholy  sensation  was  produced  in  this  city  on  Wednesday 
last,  by  the  very  unexpected  announcement  that  the  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Maginn,  Roman  Catholic  Coadjutor  of  Derry,  had  expired  at  2  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  in  St.  Columb*s  College  here,  in  which 
he  bad  his  town  residence,  and  c  which  he  was  patron  and  founder. 
From  what  we  have  learned,  he  felt-  himself  to  be  in  what  he  consid- 
ered good  health  on  the  previous  Saturday,  on  which  day  he  had  ar- 
rived from  his  usual  residence  at  Buncrana.  On  the  following  day  he 
was  seized  with  typhus,  on  which  mortification  supervened,  and  which 
terminated  fatally.  A  fortnight  or  so  previously,  he  had  suffered  from 
a  cold  caught  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  it  may  be  that  that 
cold  was  at  the  foundation  of  the  disease  of  which  he  died." 

The  special  reporter  of  the  Dublin  FreemarCs  Journal^ 
describes  the  Kequiem  Mass  and  its  concomitants  very 
minutely.     We  follow  his  account : 

THE   INTERIOR  OF  THE   CHURCH. 

At  an  early  hour  this  morning,  the  coffin  containing  the  body  was 


178 


LJFE  OF  KIOHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINK. 


removed  from  his  lordship's  late  residence  in  St.  Columb's  College, 
founded  by  himself,  where  his  pure  spirit  had  put  on  immortality,  to 
the  Catholic  Cathedral. 

This  was  done  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  people.  From 
the  first  moment  of  his  death,  crowds  had  continued  to  seek  admission, 
to  look  once  more  upon  that  countenance,  whose  beaming—  a  mixture 
in  life  of  earth's  innocence  and  Heaven's  hope — can  never  be  forgot- 
ten by  any  one  who  ever  beheld  it.  To  make  room  for  others,  each 
party  in  its  turn  was  compelled  to  take  a  hurried  farewell.  The  wish 
to  see  even  his  coffin  once  again  became,  from  this  hasty  separation, 
•o  universal,  that  it  could  not  be  refused.  The  Cathedral  was  hung  in 
mourning.  A  sable  veil  covered  the  fronts  of  the  galleries,  from  the 
wall  at  the  right  of  the  altar  to  the  wall  at  the  left.  The  pulpit,  the 
altar  and  the  tabernacle  were  all  similarly  clothed  in  weeds  of  woe. 

THE  COFFIN. 

The  coffin  was  three-fold  ;  the  interior,  which  covered  the  remains 
of  the  lamented  Bishop,  was  encased  in  a  massive  one  of  lead,  and 
that  was  covered  with  a  beautiful  outer-coffin  of  the  purest  mahogany, 
in  its  natural  color,  with  heavy  mountings  of  solid  brass.  It  rested 
on  a  plain  catafalque  placed  in  the  choir  in  front  of  the  high  altar. 
From  each  corner  rose  a  white  plume,  with  one  additional  at  the  head 
«f  the  coffin.  On  the  catafalque,  to  the  left  of  the  coffin,  was  placed 
the  crozier,  at  the  head  the  mitre,  and  upon  it  was  lying  the  pectoral 
episcopal  cross  of  massive  and  solid  gold.  There  were  three  lighted 
tapers  on  each  side.  The  inscription  was  peculiarly  simple.  Cut  on 
a  plate  of  thick  brass  were  merely  the  name,  the  place  for  which  he 
was  bishop,  Orthosia ;  the  place  for  which  he  was  apostolic  adrainis- 
tj<ator,  Derry ;  the  day  on  which  he  died,  the  17th  January,  1849  j 
the  number  of  years  he  was  a  bishop,  three ;  and  his  age,  53  years. 

THE  OFFICE   AND   HIGH  MASS. 

Shortly  after  eleven  o'clock  the  obsequies  commenced.  Besides  a 
very  crowded  attendance  of  the  laity,  I  noticed  present  op  the  solemn 
and  impressive  occasion,  the  most  Rev.  Dr.  McNally,  bishop  of  Clo- 
gher ;  his  lordship's  chaplain,  Rv<)v.  James  McDonnell,  C.C.  Clogher ; 
Rev.  Charles  Boyle,  P.P.,  Skerries,  diocese  of  Dublin  ;  Rev.  Edward 
McBride,  C.C,  Derry ;  Rev.  Hugh  Nugent,  administrator,  D^erry ; 
Rev.  Francis  Kelly,  'P.P.,  Fahan ;  Rev,  John  Dougherty .^P.P.,  Bana- 
gher ;  Rev.  William  McLaughlin,  P.P.,  lakahane  ;  Rev.  M.  O'Eane,  P.P., 


LIFE  OF  RIOHT  BEY.  EDWARD  HAGINN. 


179 


1849; 


Omagh';  Rev.  James  M'Aleer,  P.P.^  Burt ;  Rev.  Wm.  Browne,  P.P., 
Strabane  ;  Rev.  James  McDonagh,  P.  P.,  Comber ;  Rev.  Charles  Flan- 
agan, P.P.,  Coleraine  ;  Rev.  F.  McHagh,  P.P.,  Draipquin }  Rev.  Geo. 
O'Doogherty,  P.P.,  Moville ;  Rev.  John  MoLoughlin,  C.C.,  Derry ; 
Rev.  Edward  O'Dongherty,  PP.,  Magilligan,  Rev.  John  McCulIagh 
P.P.,  Terminamongan ;  Rev.  M.  MoGlinohy,  P.P.,  Urney ;  Rev.  Mr. 
McNulty,  Rev.  W.  Connolly,  C.C,  Urney  ;  Rev.  Charles  MoCrossan, 
O.C.  Strabane ;  Rev.  Wm.  Begarty,  C.C,  Buncrana ;  Rev.  James 
O'Dougherty,  P.P.,  Errigle ;  Rev.  Michael  Rogers,  C.C,  Waterside ; 
Rev.  Mr.  Campbell,  President  of  St.  Columb's  College ;  Very  Rev. 
ArchdAacon  McCarron,  Rev.  James  Stephens.  P.P.,  All  Saints,  diocese 
of  Raphoe ;  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  McCafferty,  P.P.,  Carndonagh,  and 
Dean  of  tbe  diocese  ;  Rev.  P.  McFeeley,  P.P  ,  Dungiven  ;  Rev.  Ber- 
nard Magill,  C.C,  Carndonagh;  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  O'Donnell,  C.C, 
Clonmany. 

The  solemn,  beantiful  and  affecung  ceremonies  of  the  office  and 
High  Mass  for  the  dead  have  been  so  frequently  described  in  the  Free- 
matCe  Journal,  that  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  repeat  here  that 
description. 

Those  who  took  part  in  the  High  Mass  were  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
McNally,  as  ponti/ez  aaaiatetu,  the  Rev.  John  McLaughlin  as  High^ 
Priest,  the  Rev.  James  Stephens  as  deacon,  the  Rev.  John  McCullagh 
as  sub-dtacon,  and  the  Rev.  Mr  Campbell  as  master  of  ceremonies. 

Never  did  I  witness  the  celebration  of  the  beautiful  ceremonies  of 
the  Catholic  Church  on  any  occasion  when  there  was  more  of  U^i^t 
soul  of  deep  feeling  which  should  always  give  life  to  the  outwa:<ii 
forms. 

THE   SERMON. 

At  the  close  of  the  Mass  a  sermon  of  great  power,  both  in  the  elo- 
queuce  of  its  thought  and  the  eloquence  of  its  language,  was  preached 
by  the  Very  Rev.  Archdeacon  McCarron.  I  will  not  attempt  any  out- 
line of  it,  as  I  hope  soon  to  have  a  corrected  copy  of  it  for  publication 
in  the  Freeman.  It  produced  an  extraordinary  sensation  on  the  pre- 
disposed multitude  he  addressed.  On  the  preacher  turning  round  to 
the  coffin,  and  bidding  farewell  to  the  remains  of  their  cherished 
Bishop  in  terms  of  intense  devotion  and  poignant  sorrow,  he  was  , 
joined  by  the  congregation  in  a  cry  of  heart-rending  anguish,  such  as 
I  had  never  till  then  heard.    There  was  not,  I  believe,  in  that  crowded 


180 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN 


Mfenbly  of  the  laity  and  olergy,  a  single  heart  nnmoved — a  aingla 
eye  without  tears. 

LAST  RIGHT  IN   DERRT. 

This  is  the  last  night  the  remains  of  him  vrhom  the  people  had 
fondly  hoped  to  possess  as  their  pride,  their  honor  and  their  protec* 
tion  for  many  a  year,  are  to  be  in  Derry.  To-morrow  his  bereared 
flock  must  give  up  even  that ;  they  feel  this.  All  this  evening,  and 
even  now  at  a  late  hour  in  the  night,  they  are  passing  in  orowds  to 
and  from  the  Cathedral. 

Q)he  account  of  the  procession  to  Innishowen,  we  take 
from  the  Londonderry  «7bwrna?; 

THE  FUNERAL. 

Early  on  yesterday  morning  people  began  to  repair  to  the  chapel, 
from  which,  it  had  been  arranged,  the  funeral  procession  was  to  set 
out  about  eight  o'clock.  The  assemblage,  not  only  there,  but  in  the 
adjoining  streets,  through  which  the  procession  had  to  pass,  especially 
Bishop-street,  both  outside  and  inside  the  gate,  was  immense  ;  and  we 
think  we  may  safely  say  that  never  before  was  there  beheld  in  Derry 
a  procession  so  very  vast,  so  respectable,  and  in  which  persons  of  all 
creeds  were  so  thoroughly  blended,  as  the  one  which  was  formed  to 
express  esteem  for  the  virtues  of  Dr.  Maginn,  and  do  reverence  to  his 
memory.  Preceding  the  hearse,  which  was  drawn  by  four  horses  in 
sable  trappings,  came  the  clergy  of  the  diocese ;  and  it  was  followed 
by  two  closed  curriages,  in  one  of  which  were  the  venerable  mother 
of  the  deceased  and  his  much-respected  sisters,  Miss  Maginn  and  Mrs. 
Devlin,  and  in  the  other  hu  two  nieces,  daughters  of  Mrs.  Devlin. 
Next  came  on  foot,  and  dressed  in  white  robes,  the  Convent  scholars ; 
then  the  students  of  St  CoIumVs  College,  and  after  them  the  members 
of  the  Benevolent  Society,  of  whom  the  late  Bishop  was  a  generous 
patron.  These  bodies  were  followed  by  a  number  of  carriages,  among 
which  we  recognized  those  of  the  Hon,  and  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Ponsonby, 
Bishop  of  Derry  ;  the  Very  Rev.  Dean  Gough,  and  Sir  Robert  A.  Fer- 
guson, Bart.,  M.  P.  There  were  at  least  one  hundred  and  thirty  vehi- 
,  cles,  including  open  barouches,  gigs  and  cars,  in  the  line  of  the  pro- 
cession, which  were  followed  by  a  considerable  number  of  horsemen, 
and  the  large  mass  of  pedestrians  brought  up  the  rear.    We  are  in- 


LIFE  OF  BIQHT  REV.  SDWABD  HAOINK. 


181 


dined  to  say  that  the  Trhole  of  the  EpiMopslUn  and  Preabyterian 
miniatera  of  the  oity  were  preaent ;  alao  the  Re?.  Mr.  Dill,  late  of 
Xnowhead,  and  among  the  medical  gentlemen  we  obaerved  Dr.  Rogan, 
Dr.  Skipton,  Dr.  Morton,  Dr.  Hamilton,  Dr.  White,  Dr.  McLaughlin, 
Dr.  Hay,  Dr.  Roe,  Dr.  Uaira,  Dr.  Thomaon.  Of  gentlemen  in  oiBoet 
connected  with  the  city  there  were  Hia  Worahip  the  Mayor,  Aldermen 
Skipton,  Bond,  Baird,  Leathem  and  Fuator ;  Coaneillora  John  Allen, 
Caaey,  Leathem  and  Coppin ;  Captain  Ramaay,  Oovemment  Emigra- 
tion Agent ;  Colonel  Longhead,  American  Conaal ;  and  among  oUier 
gentlemen  whom  we  cannot  particularize,  there  were  John  Dyaart, 
Andrew  A.  Watt,  William  Moore,  of  Molennan,  George  Hay,  Thomaa 
Knox,  B.  McCorkell,  J.  K.  MoClintock,  Hampatead  Hall;  Samuel 
Leathem,  Burt ;  Jamea  Thompaon,  D.  Porter,  Sumuel  Crawford,  Geo. 
Franka,  Jun. ;  Jamea  Glenn,  Robert  Foater,  Jaraea  Giftham,  David 
Hamilton,  John  Quinn,  Jamea  McClelland,  Jamea  Caraon,  Benjamin 
Greer,  Eaqra.,  Ac.,  Ae. 

The  prooeasion  moved  down  Bishup-atreet,  through  the  Diamond, 
down  Butcher  atreet,  Magazine  atreet,  through  Ship-quay  gate,  and  on 
to  the  Strand-road.  Aa  it  went  on  ita  way  to  Bnncrana,  and  after  be- 
ing about  three  milea  from  the  city,  it  received  a  conatant  auoceeaion 
of  reinforoementa,  particularly  of  peraona  on  horaeback. 

A  great  number  of  Inniahowen  men,  on  horaeback,  joined  the  pro- 
ceaaion  at  Burnfoot,  Fahan,  and  aeveral  other  pointa  of  junction  along 
the  line.  Great  numbera  of  the  poor  were  congregated  in  the  main- 
atreet  of  Bnncrana ;  and,  aa  the  hearae  paaaed  the  road  leading  down 
to  the  late  Biahop'a  residence,  lamentations  loud  and  deep  were  heard 
from  the  multitude  on  all  sides.  On  arriving  at  Cook-^uU  chapel,  the 
corpse  was  removed  into  the  center  of  the  building,  where  the  usual 
office  of  the  dead  waa  performed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  McNally, 
Bishop  of  Clogher,  and  the  numerous  priests  present.  Dr.  McNnlly 
waa  the  intimate  friend  of  the  deceased  Bishop,  and  hia  unremitting 
attention  during  the  obsequiea,  was  the  theme  of  general  observation. 
The  offering  on  the  oooaaion  amounted,  it  is  said,  to  upwards  of  £100, 
and  waa  much  larger  than  on  any  former  occaaion.  On  approaching 
Buncrana,  the  Coaat  Guard  hoiated  the  Union  Jack  of  their  atatioii 
half  mast  high,  in  token  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  had  been  held  by 
them.  ^ 

The  Dublin  correspondent's  account  of  the  interment 
is  given  in  these  words : 


182 


LIFE  OF  RIOHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 


THE  INTERMCNT. 

Ai  the  prooMsion  approached  Bunoraoa,  and  the  grateful  people  to 
Trhom  he  ministered  aa  parieh j>rieit  for  upwards  of  twentj  yean  oame 
forth — not  to  welcome  him  in  the  pride  of  their  hearts,  as  they  wert 
wont  to  do— but  in  unutterable  sorrow  to  receiye  all  that  death  had 
left  them  of  the  great  man  who  had  made  the  name  of  their  parish 
known  aa  (kr  as  his  own  fame  had  spread,  no  words  could  describe  their 
Tislble  emotion. 

At  every  path  leading  to  the  public  road,  multitudes  of  men  and 
women,  of  the  old  and  of  the  young,  were  assembled.  All  who  were 
able  to  walk,  joined  in  the  mournftil  procession,  and  the  old  and  infirm 
struggled  to  get  to  some  eminence  to  have  one  last  look  at  that  hearse 
which  was  bearing  his  remains,  and  when  it  was  disappearing  from 
their  riew  fearfiiliy  wild  and  convulsive  were  their  cries  and  their 
heartrending  last  farewells ;  but  the  great  scene  which  unnerved  every 
one  in  the  procession  took  place  when  the  hearse  reached  the  road  leading 
oJ  to  his  lordship's  late  residence,  and  an  immense  multitude  crowded 
in  view  of  his  favorite  cottage  raised  the  aflfecting  Irish  eaonae,  so  well 
calculated  to  express  the  wild  excess  of  sorrow  of  which  the  Irish  peo- 
ple are  capable.  Ever  and  anon  these  wild  strains,  heard  above  the 
atrong  gale  which  was  then  blowing,  fell  in  thrilling  sadness  on  the 
ears  of  those  who  were  in  the  front  of  the  procession.  This  melancholy 
expression  of  heartrending  sorrow  i^as  continued  through  the  town 
of  Bunorana  and  on  the  graveyard. 

The  procession  reached  Cookhill  chapel  at  a  quarter  past  one  o'clock, 
P.M.  The  funeral  obsequies  were  read  by  the  Very  Rev.  P.  O'Loghlin, 
V.G.,  now  vicar-capitular  of  the  diocese,  assisted  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
M'Nally. 

No  language  can  describe  the  voice  of  lamentation  which  arose  flrom 
the  assembled  thousands  when  the  coffin  was  placed  in  the  family  vault. 
The  last  resting-place  of  Dr.  Maginn's  remains  is  twelve  feet  long,  and 
eight  feet  broad,  and  six  deep.  The  floor  is  beautifully  flagged.  The 
tomb  is  well  sheltered.  Behind  it  are  the  lofty  and  romantic  hills  of 
ianishowen ;  before  It  are  the  beautiful  3willy  and  the  setting  sun. 

The  closing  scene  was  most  affecting.  The  venerable  mother  of  the 
bishop— pressed  down  with  years,  and  now  bending  and  tottering  be- 
neath the  weight  of  unspeakable^orrow— entered  the  vault.to  bid  &re- 
well  to  the  remains  of  her  honored  son.  The  tears  of  such  a  parent 
over  such  a  son  t  • 


LIFE  OF  RIOHT  REV.  EfllTARD  MAOINN.  188 

The  venerable  mourner  here  alluded  to,  was  in  her 
ninety-second  year.  She  did  not  long  survive  this  last 
crushing  blow ;  she  sloops  with  her  beloved  son,  in  the 
same  family  vault.  His  favorite  sister,  Bridget,  the 
companion  of  his  last  years,  came  to  Canada  to  visit 
another  sister,  Mrs.  O'Meara,  previously  mentioned. 
She  died  at  Montreal,  in  the  summer  of  1856. 
Other  near  connexions  of  the  Bishop  still  live  in  the 
United  States  and  in  Ireland.  From  Miss  Maginn  and 
his  other  American  connexions,  as  we  said  in  the  Intro- 
duction, we  received  the  authentic  documents  upon 
which  this  memoir  is  founded. 

A  few  words  on  the  character  and  genius  of  Dr.  Ma- 
ginn, will  not  be  thought  superfluous  from  one  thus 
unexpectedly,  but  not  unwillingly,  made  his  Biographer. 

We  have  endeavored  to  present  him  to  the  reader  as 
he  appears  to  us — ft  patriot,  high-spirited,  generous,  en- 
ergetic, indefatigable;  a  Priest  and  Bishop,  vigilant, 
hospitable,  charitable,  childlike  in  his  intercourse,  pious, 
just,  forgiving,  a  lover  of  the  poor,  an  uncompromising 
enemy  of  local  oppression  and  lordly  pride;  as  an  au- 
thor, we  may  more  properly  enlarge  on  the  qualities  by 
which  he  was  distinguished.  His  reputation  in  this 
way,  rests  almost  solely  on  the  letters  to  be  found  in  the 
Appendix.  They  are  evidently  thrown  off  in  consider- 
able haste,  though  we  have  found  one,  and  sometimes 
two,  drafts  of  his  chief  pieces  among  his  papers.     Both 


184 


LIFE  OP  RIGHT«!BEV.  EDWABD  MAGINN. 


i    I 


the  English  and  the  Latin  correspondence  (the  latter  of 
which  it  has  not  been  thought  best  to  translate)  are 
marked  by  great  fallness  of  .thought  and  expression.  It 
is  a  mind  overflowing — the  genuine  outpouring  of  a 
deep  and  living  stream.  The  writer  shows  his  Celtic 
characteristics  throughout,  whether  addressing  Cardinal 
Fransoni  or  Lord  Stanley,  whether  writing  on  a  local 
interest  to  a  Poor  Law  Guardian,  or  arraigning  a  Lord 
Lieutenant  for  national  offences.  He  is  always  in  earn- 
est, always  hearty,  always  straightforward ;  he  has  the 
faults,  too,  of  his  school  and  time  in  Ireland ;  he  is  often 
redundant,  sometimes  over-obsequious  in  his  address  to 
persons  in  high  places ;  too  impetuous,  perhaps,  in  the 
charge,  and  too  informal  in  the  proof.  His  earlier  style 
is  often  overrun  with  expletives ;  but  as  he  continued 
to  write,  he  became  clearer  and  terser — more  sinewy 
and  less  flabby.  The  English  speech  is  thought  by 
many  to  be  too  cold  and  guarded  for  the  Irish  mind, 
but  the  careful  readers  of  Burke'and  Grattan  will  hardly 
subscribe  to  that  opinion.  Certainly  the  language  of 
Shakspeare,  Jeremy  Taylor  and  Walter  Scott,  cannot 
be  thought  defective  in  the  resources  of  a  picturesque 
and  imaginative  diction.  The  genius  of  that  language 
has  been  little  studied  in  Irish  ecclesiastical  seminaries, 
and  the  result  is  seen  in  many  of  the  late  writers  among 
the  Clergy.  We  see  strength  running  riot,  inspiration 
degrading  itself  into  vituperation,  and  the  living  sense 


LIFE  OF  KIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  HAOINN. 


185 


atter  of 

ate)  are 

ion.    It 

ig  of  a 

3  Celtic 

Dardinal 

a  local 

a  Lord 

in  earn- 

bas  the 

is  often 

dress  to 

,  in  the 

er  style 

ntinued 

sinewy 

ght  by 

mind, 

hardly 

age  of 

cannot 

iresque 

nguage 


inanes 


'» 


among 
>iration 
sense 


smothered  under  rank  overgrowth  of  superfluous  phrase- 
ology. Dr.  Maginn  had  almost  wholly  freed  himself 
from  these  yicrou^and  enervating  habits  of  expression 
towards  the  end  of  his  days ;  and  had  he  been  spared 
to  complete  the  term  allotted  to  us  by  the  Psalmist,  his 
literary  reputation  would,  we  think,  have  rested  on 
wider  and  deeper  foundations  than  we  can  now  claim 
for  it. 

The  true  great  work  of  Dr.  Maginn  is,  the  Irish 
Church.  To  that  work  he  has  contributed  as  largely  as 
any  man  of  his  time  in  the  episcopacy.  He  upheld  the 
sinking  spirit  of  the  Isle  in  the  darkest  hour  of  her 
modern  misfortunes.  He  helped  to  defeat*  her  Imperial 
oppressors  in  the  day  of  their  loudest  exultation  over 
her;  and  the  iulers  against  whom  he  and  his  friends 
contended,  we  must  remember,  were  men  not  easily 
baulked  nor  easily  beaten.  Yet  beaten  on  Irish  ground 
they  have  been,  ever  since  the  famine.  The  ruins  they 
left  have  risen  up  and  taken  shape,  the  grave  has  given 
back  its  dead,  the  blasted  tree  has  put  forth  fruit-bearing 
branches  which-  cover  the  face  of  the  land.  As  certainly 
as  England  has  conquered  Ireland  materially,  Ireland 
is  conquering  England  religiously.  Nor  is  that  con- 
quest limited  to  Ireland ;  the  garrisons  of  the  faith  con- 
gregate wherever  the  British  flag  flies ;  it  has  its  Car- 
dinal in  Westminster,  its  Bishops  in  Scotland,  in  North 
America,  in  Sidney,  in  Bombay,  in  Ceylon,  in  Corfu. 


186 


LIPK  OP  BIGHT  BKV.  BDWARD  MAGINN. 


'!' 


The  Irish  Church  has  proved  itself  stronger  than  the 

Imperial  state  in  the  domain  of  Couscience,  and  cold 

ft    # 
must  be  that  Christian's  heart  who  can  read  without 

tears  of  admiration  the  record  of  any  portion  of  such  a. 

struggle. 

It  is  in  his  connection  with  that  heroic,  world-wide 

contest,  we  have  most  loved  to  contemplate  the  character 

of  our  illustrious  subject,  and  as  one  of  its  foremost 

figures  we  now  present  him  to  the  pious  remembrance 

of  every  reader  of  this  little  Book  1* 


I 


*  It  may  be  proper  here  to  mention  that  in  January,  1849,  the  fol- 
lowing advertisSment  appeared  in  the  Dablin  FreemarCa  Journal,  of 
which  Mr.  MoDevitt  was  one  of  the  Editors : 

THE  LATE  DR  MAGINN. 

FREFARING  FOR  PUBLICATION,  A  MEMOIR  OF  THE   LATE   MOST   REV.  DR. 
MAGINN,  BY  N.  M'DfeVITT,  ESQ. 

The  Memoir  will  comprise  the  views  of  this  great  Irishman  and 
gifted  Bishop  on  the  Literary,  Social,  Political  and  Religious  Questions 
of  his  time. 

It  will  also  contain  his  Lordship's  Letters,  published  and  unpub- 
lished, and  in  short  all  the  emanations  of  his  great  mind,  which  it  is 
now  possible  to  collect. 

His  Correspondence  with  the  Holy  See  on  the  important  subjects 
which  agitated  Catholic  Ireland  during  his  Episcopate,  possesses  great 
strength. 

The  relatives  of  the  illustrious  Prelate  have  kindly  placed  all  his  pa- 
pers at  the  disposal  of  the  writer ;  and  hisTLordship's  most  intimate 
friends — some  of  them  the  leading  intellects  of  the  day — have  volun- 
teered to  supply  most  valuable  facts,  suggestions  and  anecdotes. 

The  work  is  undertaken  with  the  view  of  making  permanent  in  the 
country  the  brilliant  and  guiding  light  of  that  splendid  mind,  over 
whose  premature  departure  the  church  and  the  country  of  the  illus- 


LIFE  OP  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 


187 


:   BEV.  DB. 


A  LAMENT  FOR  THE  LATE  RIGHT  REV.  DR.  MAGINN.  i , 

BY.   W.  KESEALT. 

Weep,  Erin,  %veep — ^weep,  from  Malin  to  Cape  Clear  ! 

Come  young,  and  old,  and  beautiful,  come  gather  round  the  bier ! 

Weep,  weep  in  depth  of  bitterness — not  in  a  passing  sigh-— 

Weep  earnestly  and  loudly  for  the  spirit  that's  on  High !    • 

Weep,  weep  ye  for  your  mightiest,  your  country's  hope  and  pride, 

Too  good,  too  pure,  too  holy,  in  this  dark  world  to  bide ; 

Rain,  rain  your  tears  like  waves  across  the  briny  deep. 

Our  loved  is  dead  !  our  hope  is  gone  ! — oh,  weep,  weep,  weep  I 

II. 

His  glory  is  in  Heaven  high,  he  needs  no  praise  on  earth, 

The  angels  and  the  seraphim  are  reveling  in  mirth — 

Ah  !  if  they'd  known  the  sorrow  that  attends  us  here  below, 

Tliey  never  would  have  stricken  us  with  such  a  cruel  blow. 

In  the  cold,  cold  clay  he'U'soon  be  wrapt,  the  purest  of  the  pure,       * 

The  Genius  of  a  brilliant  age  !  and  we  left  to  endure — 

Oh,  God  I  though  it  should  anger  thee  to  bring  him  from  that  keep, 

We  would,  but  cannot  do  it — oh !  weep,  weep,  weep ! 

III. 

His  presence  was  as  dear  to  us  as  sight  unto  the  blind ! — 

A  brilliant  and  a  holy  light  shone  from  his  heaven-lit  mind. 

The  brightness  hath  all  ended  in  the  dark  and  silent  grave. 

As  sunbeam  on  the  waters  blue,  lost  in  the  distant  wave — 

The  sanctitj'  is  left  behind,  a  pure,  celestial  gem, 

Whose  sparkling  light  will  guide  us  to  a  heavenly  diadem  ! 

Oh !  could  we  sow  'neath  such  a  sun,  what  beauteous  fruit  we'd  reap  *, 

He  showed  the  way — he's  dead  to-day — oh  !  weep,  weep,  weep  ! 

trious  deceased  have  mourned  in  such  deep,  universal  and  heartfelt 
sorrow. 

N.  B. — All  communications  on  the  subject  are  to  be  addressed  to  13, 
Russell  street,  Dublin. 

Mr.  McDevitt  unfortunately  died  before  having  put  pen  to  paper, 
towards  the  Memoir,  so  far  as  we  can  learn.  The  documents  collected 
for  him,  returned  at  his  death,  and  brought  by  Miss  Magiun  to  Mon- 
treal, were  those  committed  to  us. 


188  LIFE  OF  RIGHT  REY.  EDWARD  MAOINN. 

IT. 

We  thought  he  vtob  not  dying — we  were  hopeful  to  the  last, 
So  calmly  from  its  tenement  his  holy  spirit  passed — 
We  looked  into  his  face  again — we  could  not  think  the  worst, 
Ah  !  false  as  fleeting  shadows  were  the  hopes  we  fondly  nursed  ! 
With  bur^ng  hearts  we  knelt  around,  but  oh !  we  could  not  pray, 
For  all  our  thoughts,  and  hopes  and  love,  were  fixed  in  that  cold  day, 
Ah !  ruthless  Death,  why  leave  our  star  a  pale,  dull,  funeral  heap  1 
Oh,  God !  that  it  should  come  to  this—oh,  weep,  weep,  weep  !. 

r  V.J 

Alas !  to  think  those  beauteous  eyes  have  grown  forever  dim, 
That  at  the  poor's  dark  misery  in  briny  tears  would  swim  !— 
To  think  those  lips  will  never  more  a  holy  blessing  speak. 
Nor  utter  forth  a  sweet  advice  in  accents  mild  and  meek  ! — 
To  see  no  more  the  smile  that  played  like  a  sunbeam  on  a  lake ; 
Holy  Virgin  !  to  think  of  all,  ten  thousand  hearts  would  break ! 
We're  left  alone — we're  left  alone,  to  climb  a  rugged  steep- 
No  star  to  guide  our  weary  path^^h  !  weep,  weep,  weep ! 


\l. 


▼I. 

His  silken  hair — his  lustrous  eye — 'tis  hard  to  think  they're  clay-^ 

'Tis  harder  still  to  think  with  him  this  lone  and  dreary  day ! 

Good  Heaven !  sure  he  is  not  dead — no,  no  it  cannot  be. 

The  Saint^u  whom  our  anxious  eye  hath  always  longed  to  see ! — 

?'ll  not  believe — I'll  not  believe  he'd  leave  us  here  alone. 

Like  wand'rers  in  a  desert  wild,  with  thorny  shrubs  o'ergrown  f 

Oh  !  why  is  all  around  us  dark  1 — why  doth  our  heart's-blood  creep  ! 

Alas    he's  dead — too  true — too  true — oh  !  weep,  weep,  weep  ! 

VII. 

There's  dew  upon  the  hearth-stone — deep  sadness  on  the  brow — 
Each  heart  is -seared  and  cheerless  as  a  lonely  winter  bough — 
The  eye  hath  lost  its  wonted  fire— the  children  cease  to  play— 
The  raven  locks,  that  glistened  fair,  one  night  hath  turned  thoui  grey. 
Oh  I  life  is  death  to  all  who  knew  our  glory  and  our  pride, 
The  saddest  thoughts  will  joyful  be,  down  Time's  unebbing  tide ! 
The  grave  will  be  a  welcome  thing — no. dark  and  fearful  leap. 
For  then  we'll  meet  our  loved  again — oh !  weep,  weep,  weep  ! 


LIFE  OF  RIGHT  RBY.  EDWARD  MAOIN^.  189 


vnx*  I  • 

Hov  vre  loved  him— how  we  loved  him,  'tis  in  viun  to  tell ; 
Heaven  alone  we  prized  above  him — earth  not  half  as  well>- 
There's  deep,  deep  grief,  in  woman's  wnil,  when  fitfal  as  the  sea — 
There's  deeper  grief  in  silent  thought,  on  lowly  bended  knee ; 
But  what  are  all  to  manhood's  tears,  fast  streaming  from  his  eyes. 
Like  torrents  from  the  mountains  wild,  when  wrapt  in  low'ring  skies, 
And  silent  thought,  and  manhood's  tears,  and  wailing  wild  and  deep, 
Have  shown  how  we  have  loved  him — still  weep,  weep,  weep ! 

IX. 

Weep  ye,  weep  ye,  for  your  patriot  Saint— the  pious  and  the  brave, 
His  life-blood  he'd  have  freely  shed,  his  dear  old  land  to  save— « 
The  glorious  green  he  would  unfold — he  had  no  childish  fears, 
A  pleasant  dream  it  was  to  him — a  host  of  Irish  spears ! — 
He's  low  to-day — ^he's  low  to-day — ^his  narrow  home  is  made* 
Where  S willy's  sullen  waters  roll,  beneath  the  mountains'  shade ! — 
Our  country's  wrongs  had  rent  his  heart — ^he  knew,  and  felt  too  deep, 
Oh !  what  is  earth  without  him  now !— oh !  weep,  weep,  weep ! 

X. 

All  nature  will  be  smiling  on  his  drear  and  lonely  tomb. 

The  brightest  sunbeams  there  will  fall,  its  verdure  to  illume ! 

The  softest  dews  of  heaven  will  descend  upon  his  breast! 

The  waves  will  roll  more  peacefully,  lest  they  should  break  his  rest ; 

Their  gentle  fall  upon  the  strand  will  be  the  mourner's  sigh. 

The  little  stars,  his  watchers  lone — ^his  canopy  the  sky — 

And  sure  the  winds  will  gently  blow — they  dare  not  wildly  sweep 

Above  the  heart  that's  cold— oh !  weep,  weep,  weep  ! 

XX. 

The  birds  are  warbling  in  the  trees — the  day  is  clear  and  calm — 

The  air  is  hushed  in  thoughtfulnass — ^the  shrubs  are  breathing  balm. 

But  what  is  nature's  loveliness  to  light  the  soul's  deep  gloom. 

Our  loved  is  gone — forever  gone — down  to  the  silent  tomb  ! 

Good  God !  the  very  thought  is  more  than  our  bursting  hearts  can 

bear— 
Oh !  can  our  hearts  be  comforted  ? — ^yes,  in  our  long,  long  sleep, 
But  ever  till  that  blessed  time— oh  !  weep,  weep,  weep ! 


190         fiPB  OF  BIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  MAGINN. 

Woep,  weep  him  through  the  Island'a  length,  /.rom  Malin  to  Oape 

Clear, 
From  Ireland's  Eye  to  dark  Olen  Sanl,  rain,  rain  the  bitter  tear; 
The  Forest  Oak  is  stricken  down-— come,  gather  all  around— 
Oh !  softly  tread— oh !  softly  tread — ^yoa  walk' on  holy  ground- 
There,  there  he's  wrapt  in  mourning  deep,  like  sunbeam  in  a  olondi 
Then  gather  round  in  sorrow  wild,  and  wail  him  long  and  loud !  . 
One  last  fond  look— one  bursting  shriek  of  anguish  wild  and  deep~* 
The  eye  is  dim — all's  dark,  all's  dark— oh !  weep,  weep,  weep ! 


■>^  > 


TO  THE  MEMOKY  OF  THE  LATE  RT.  REV.  DR.  MAGIKK. 

BT  HBB.  H.  ▲.  SADLIBB. 

**  If  it  be  sad  to  speak  of  treosnres  gone, 
Of  sainted  genius  called  too  soon  away ; 
Of  light  fh>m  this  world  taken,  while  it  shone 

Yet  kindling  onward  to  the  perfect  day ; 
How  shall  oar  griefr,  if  these  things  moarnftil  be, 

Flow  forth,  oh !  thou  of  many  gifts,  for  thee."— JVIMt  Ibmmu 

A  star  hath  vanished  from  our  nether  sphere, 
A  glory  from  our  darksome  earth  is  fled ; 

Our  grief  is  half  astonishment— half  awe, 
And  all  tiie  mourning  soul  is  filled  with  dread. 

0  strange  it  seems  that  such  as  he  should  die- 
Die  to  that  world  whose  darkness  he  illumined— 

Die  with  his  glorious  genius  /ia/j^  revealed. 
Oh  earth  I— oh  man ! — ^how  darkly  are  ye  doomed  1 

Weep,  "EaAa,  weep.    One  other  blow  is  struck ; 

A  link  is  added  to  thy  chain  of  woe. 
A  wreath  of  gloomiest  cypress  swift  entwine 

For  him,  thy  patriot-prelate,  now  Aid  low. 
For  thee  he  stept  from  forth  seclusica's  shade, 

And  reared  his  towering  mind  in  tny  defence, 


LIFB  OF  BIOHT  BEY.  EDWARD  MAGIKN. 


191 


to  Oape 


r; 


loadi 

i! 

leep— 
I 


GINU. 


limana 


Till  even  thy  foul  malignen  bAok  recoiled ;  j 

Weep  for  the  tnuty  cliamplon  taken  hence. 

And  thoa,  onr  hoUsak  Mother,  Chorch  of  God  1 

Deplore  the  stately  column  rent  away  I 
Honm  genins,  learning,  piety  and  zealr— 

Assemblage  rare  in  "  tenement  of  clay." 
Thine  was  the  charity  that  warmed  his  heart, 

And  thine  the  foith  sublime  which  filled  his  soul. 
Jfeet  son  of  such  Mother^— he  his  dead ; 
,  What  now  can  thy  maternal  heart  console ! 

What  though  thy  circling  arm  him  still  enfold  t 

Where  stands  his  radiant  soul  before  the  throne, 
llid  thy  triumphant  warriors,  brightly  crowned — 

Yet  moumest  thou  the  light  from  this  world  gone. 
Thou  sorrowest  for  thy  children  thus  bereaved — 

The  toight  example  from  our  view  removed, 
A  radiance  from  this  world  of  sin  withdrawn — 

So  mourns  thy  mother— K)h  I  thou  most  beloved  1 

For  thee,  my  country !  raise  thy  sorrowing  eyes 

To  those  far  regions,  where  he  "  lives  and  reigns," 
Believe  that  still  he  loves  and  serves  thee  there-^ 
Prays  for  thy  weal — compassionates  thy  pains. 
Though  stript  of  this  world's  wealth,  thou  still  art  rich- 
Rich  in  the  saints  thou  daily  givest  to  heaven- 
Rich  iiL.the  heritage  ot'  t^^hine  old  &ith. 
Purely  divine,  and  free  from  early  leaven  I    * 

From  forth  thy  hills  and  vales,  how  many  a  star 

Hath  shone  upon  the  darkness  of  the  eartlb— 
Guiding  the  nations  with  the  light  of  faith — 

A  blessing  to  the  land  that  gave  them  birth  I 
Thou  art  not  poor,  loved  island  of  our  sires  \ 

Rich  in  thy  children  we  behold  thee  stand ; 
Hadst  thou  but  borne  a  Doyle  and  a  Maginn, 

The  world  would  deem  thee  rich,  mine  honored  land  I 


Montreal,  Feb.  lUh,  1849. 


-■-*■'  '■iiifctw#*-',^j^i>>.t*'i,_  ,^^ 


102 


Un  OF  BIGHT  RIV.  BDWABD  XAOINN. 


**MIMBHTO  NORL** 

(From  the  New  York  Nation,  Feb.  17,  1840.) 

By  the  letter  of  »  Deny  oorreepondent,  the  IHenda  of  Ireluid  in 
America  will  be  InfOTmed  of  the  pertioiUan  of  the  new  national  calam- 
ity which  has  befiillen  that  iilaiAd,  in  the  death  of  the  Oatholio  Bishop 
of  Derry— the  Ri  Rev.  Br.  Maginn. 

At  any  time  this  woald  have  been  a  ead  and  heary  lofli  to  a  etrnggling 
country,  neoeaMoily  nnfliyorable  to  the  ripe  derelopment  of  great  char^ 
actere.  If  last  year  our  politics  had  prospered,  and,  in  the  midst  of 
Jubilee,  this  news  had  re;;ched  the  Irish  capital, 

**  How  would  the  triumph  of  our  ranka 
Be  dMliod  with  grief  r 

But,  as  it  Is,  when  patriotism  Is  felony,  and  public  ylrtne  is  olroum- 
▼ented  and  spirited  away  by  jealous  and  arbitrary  power,  Ireland  could 
fiur,  far  less  afford  this  loss.  Safe  in  the  dignity  of  his  office,  Dr.  Maginn 
might  liaye  made  the  sanctuary  in  which  he  ministered  the  nursery  of 
a  wiser  and  more/ortnnate  struggle  than  that  of  '48.  By  the  force  of 
his  character,  and  that  spell  of  sincerity  which  was  the  charm  of  his 
style  and  the  secret  of  his  fSune,  he  might  h^ye  attracted  and  relnyigor- 
ated  the  dnklng  hearts  of  his  people,  and  replenished  their  courage  out 
of  the  abundance  of  his  own. 

Then,  also,  if  longer  life  had  been  allotted  him,  he  might  have  added 
a  finished  reputation  to  the  few  we  have  in  our  recent  history.  Our 
monuments  for  many  years  are  a  moumltil  multitude  of  broken  columns 
and  unfinished  cenotaplis.  One  more,  alas,  is  added  to  the  number, 
and  this  shaft  has  been  broken  abruptly  off  at  the  very  hour  its  support 
was  most  needed  in  the  world. 

The  public  services  of  Dr.  Maginn  to  his  own  country  need  scarcely 
be  repeated  here.  All  who  take  an  interest  in  Ireland  remember  them. 
He  was  the  earliest  and  moat  ardent  friend  of  the  nodon  of  parties.  He 
was  utterly  opposed  to  the  antiquated  folly  of  petitioning  England. 
He  was  a  believer  In  the  right  of  nations  to  resort  to  arms  for  the  de< 
fence,  or  assertion  of  their  just  claims,  and  if  banners  had  appeared  last 
year  in  the  summer  air  over  the  fields  of  Ireland,  his  benediction  would 
have  hailed  them  as  they  rose.  The  utter  vanisliing  of  ail  our  brave 
prospects,  beyond  a  doubt,  weighed  on  his  enthusiastic  spirit,  and, 
perhaps.  Induced  that  fever  of  mind  and  body,  wliich  has  ended  in  his 
death. 


LIFK  OF  RIOHT  RKV.   KDWARD  MAOINN. 


193 


scarcely 
it  them, 
es.  Ho 
ngland. 
the  de- 
ed last 
would 
braye 
,  and, 
in  hU 


Bora  In  Ulster,  noned  np  in  the  natlre  region  of  rellglooi  contto 
tion,  the  triaUi  of  his  creed  hardened,  but  never  darkened,  his  intellect 
He  was  equally  tnh  ttom  bigotry  and  compromise.  That  he  had  in- 
fluence enough  last  year  to  prevent  the  nsnal  partisan  tomfooleries  of 
both  denominations  in  the  city  of  Derry,  is  the  best  proof  of  his  iii> 
flnenoe,  and  the  good  uses  he  made  of  it.  May  his  successors  be  ai 
successftil  in  the  same  work 

If  we  dared  to  mingle  private  sorrow  with  the  grief  of  our  race,  we 
would  be  bound,  peculiarly,  to  regret  his  loss  and  reverence  his  memory. 
In  days  of  danger  and  calamity,  we  had  reason  to  be  grateftil  to  this 
great  man,  for  timely  aid  and  warning.  Before  that  time  we  had  re> 
spected  and  honored  him ;  since  then,  a  not  unnatural  personal  grati- 
tude mingled  with  our  estimate  of  his  character.  We  had  hoped  some 
day  or  other  to  render  to  the  living  the  thanks  that  are  now  turoed 
into  a  lament  Fondly,  we  thought,  we  may  go  a  pilgrimage  over  the 
grey  hills  of  lake-bound  Innishowen,  to  repay  the  obligation  we  owe, 
and  to  acquit  the  debt  of  gratitude.  But  In  that  wild  peninsula,  where 
once  before  the  last  dreaded  chief  of  a  broken  confederacy  met  a  sudden 
death,  we  will  find  hereafter,  if  not  his  home,  his  tomb,  and  no  more 
fervent  prayer  than  ours,  and  no  more  reverend  step,  shall  be  about 
his  grave  from  this  till  then.  May  the  soul  of  the  good  Bishop  rest  in 
peace  I 


..,*Mi. 


'U,„,„-^»- 


APPENDIX. 


THE  DEVON  COMMISSION 

The  Bev.  Edvxtrd  Maginn  stoom  and  examined. 
Where  do  you  reside  ?    I  am  parish  priest  of  Bun- 
crana  and  the  union  of  Fahans  and  Djsertigney,  in  the* 
county  of  Donegal. 

What  is  the  extent  of  the  district  with  which  you*  are 
acquainted  ?  Including  the  three  parishes,  about  66,000 
or  67,000  acres. 

What  is  the  general  description  of  the  district ;  is  it 
tillage,  or  is  a  large  portion  of  it  mountain  ?  With  re- 
spect to  the  portion  of  mountain  and  tillage  in  Upper 
Fahans  and  Dysertigney  I  cannot  say  with  certainty. 
With  respect  to  Lower  Fahans  I  can  state  pretty  accu- 
rately the  quantity  of  improvable  ground.  .  The  parish, 
including  two  extra  parochial  places,  comprises  about 
26,000  acres.  As  far  as  I  recollect,  it  is  a  long  time 
since  I  received  these  documents  from  one  of  the  gov- 
ernment surveyors ;  at  that  time  there  were  about  4,000 
or  5,000  acres  in  a  state  of  cultivation ;  about  12,000 
acres  that  could  be  improved ;  and  the  remainder  con- 


.t. 


196 


APPENDIX 


sisted  of  rocks  and  mountains  of  a  certain  elevation, 
whiob  rendered  them  unprofitable  and  unimprovable. 

Have  there  been  as  many  as  twelve  thousand  acres 
improved  since  you  obtained  that  information ?  No;  I 
stated  there  were  about  four  thousand  in  a  state  of  cul- 
tivation. Since  that  time  about  one  thousand  or  one 
thousand  five  hundred  acres  may  have  been  brought  in 
from  pasture  ground. 

Is  that  district  very  populous  ?  Some  portions  of  the 
district  are  populous  and  densely  inhabited,  but  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  the  district  is  uninhabited. 

Does  the  district  afford,  in  your  opinion,  opportunities 
for  extensive  and  remunerative  improvements?  Yes; 
I  think  most  extensive  and  profitable  improvements  can 
be  made  in  the  country. 

Is  the  state  of  agriculture  improving  or  otherwise, 
and 'in  what  particulars?  Yes,  I  do  think  that  it  is  im- 
proving. The  nature  of  the  times  has  forced  the  people 
to  extend  their  farms  up  the  ascent  of  the  mountain, 
and  to  take  in  some  of  the  land  to  meet  the  demabds 
upon  them ;  they  have  done  more  in  that  way  in  the 
last  four  or  five  years  than  in  the  ten  years  before. 

What  are  the  manures  chiefly  used?  In  localities 
bordering  upon  the  sea  shore  they  use  sand,  and  what 
they  call  sea-weed  or  wrack.  They  also  use  animal 
manure  in  the  mountains,  mixed  with  bog. 

Are  there  any  farming  societies  or  agricultural  schools 
in  the  district,  and  what  has  been  their  effect?  There 
has  been  a  branch  farming  society  established  in  con- 
nexion with  the  poor-law  union,  a  short  time  ago ;  as 
7et  it  has  not  had  any  effect :  we  have  got  an  agricuitu- 


AFFSNDIX 


197 


con- 
»;  as 
[cultu- 


ral school  in  embryo,  and  I  t^ink  it  can  be  tamed  to 
very  good  account  in  that  neighborhood.  On  otrtoin 
conditions  Captain  Kennedy  has  mode  us  a  present  of 
three  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  and  I  have  got  a  teacher 
there  who  gives  lectures  on  agriculture. 

Has  it  had  much  effect  yet  V  No,  they  have  scarcely 
tried  the  effects,  but  it  is  training  the  youth  and^ving 
them  knowledge  of  the  different  kinds  of  soil ;  but  the 
teacher  has  not  yet  been  trained  in  Dublin. 

What  is  the  more  usual  size  of  tillage  farms,  and  the 
mode  of  culture  in  that  district  ?  It  is  impossible  to  an- 
swer that  question.  The  small  villages  stretch  up  along- 
side  the  mountain,  and  there  may  be  one  thousand  acres 
not  worth  more  than  Sd.  an  acre.  I  would  say  on  an 
average  about  four  acres,  or  from  that  to  six  acres  ara- 
ble, was  the  size.  It  would  be  more  accurate  for  me  to 
state  the  rental,  I  should  say  from  about  six  to  ten 
pounds. 

Are  there  many  farms  held  in  rundale,  or  in  common, 
in  the  district?  They  ore  getting  out  of  the  system  at 
present,  but  there  are  still  a  good  many  held  in  that 
way ;  there  are  some  villages  where  it  exists. 

What  is  the  general  condition  of  the  persons  holding 
in  that  state  ?  Are  they  better  or  worse  off  than  their 
neighbors?  I  think  they  are  worse  off;  at  least  the 
system  of  rundale  causes  a  great  deal  of  confusion  in 
the  country. 

In  what  manner  is  the  rent  fixed ;  is  it  by  private 
contract,  by  proposal,  or  by  valuation?  I  think  I 
should  say  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  contract  at 
all.    It  is  imposed ;  it  is  a  sum  imposed  by  the  landlord 


198 


APPENDIX. 


llll 


or  agent ;  it  has  not  the  nature  of  a  contract  by  any 
means.  There  may  be  exceptions,  but  this  is  the  gen- 
eral rule. 

Are  valuators  usually  employed?  Yes,  they  employ 
valuators.  Formerly  there  were  valuators  employed 
who  were  pe'^ons  of  knowledge,  and  understood  the 
countiy,  such  as  Mr.  Lythgowe  and  Mr.  Dysart,  who 
were  Armers  themselves;  latterly  they  have  selected 
individuals  who  know  very  little  about  the  general  na- 
ture of  the  country,  or  sought  persons  who  lived  in 
towns,  who  were  surveyors  and  not  valuators.  I  beg  to 
explain  as  to  this  answer,  that  this  I  know  from  the  very 
great  injustice  done  to  many  individuals  in  the  district 
by  those  persons  not  understanding  sufficiently  how  to 
cut  up  the  land.  They  cut  up  the  land,  and  gave  the 
best  of  it  to  two  or  three  individuals,  and  banished  the 
rest  up  to  the  mountain. 

Was  that  while  -dividing  the  farms  ?  Yes,  while  val- 
uing and  dividing  the  farms.  I  think  frequently  the 
worst  farm  pays  the  highest  rent. 

What  is  the  usual  rent  of  average  land  of  different 
qualities  ?  It  varies  very  much  throughout  the  country. 
The  value  of  it  depends  very  much  on  the  season ;  if 
the  season  is  good,  they  can  calculate  upon  a  tolerable 
crop ;  if  the  season  is  bad,  the  crop  is  exceedingly  bad. 
The  land  is  wet,  and  there  is  a  constant  flow  of  water 
from  the  hills  upon  the  lands  which  lie  on  the  sides  of 
the  mountain,  and  if  the  season  is  a  bad  one,  the  crop 
is  generally  a  failure.  I  think  the  rent  would  be  from 
21.  10s.  to  255.  the  Cunningham  acre,  for  what  is  called 
crofting  ground.  I  beg  to  submit  that  this  is  the  best 
quality  of  land  in  that  part  of  the  country. 


'i 


APPENDIX 


1^ 


by  any 
the  gen- 
employ 
nployed 
Dod  the 
irt,  who 
selected 
eral  na- 
lived  in 
I  beg  to 
the  very 
5  district 
'  how  to 
;ave  the 
ihed  the 

hile  val- 
tly  the 

ifferent 
jountry. 
son ;  if 
olerable 
ly  bad. 
>f  water 
sides  of 
he  crop 
be  from 
called 
he  best 


Are  you  aware  what  proportion  this  bears  to  the 
poor-law  valuation  ?  With  respect  to  the  poor-law  val- 
uatidn,  I  consider  it  no  criterion ;  the  reason  is  that  I 
know  the  person  very  well,  and  I  know  from  the  way 
in  which  he  valued  my  own  house  and  the  property 
throughout  the  country,  that  it  is  not  to  be  depended 
upon.  He  would  merely  stand  upon  a  hill  and  look  at 
the  lands  of  a  village,  and  afterwards  take  the  rental ; 
it  is  generally  the  rental  he  adopted  as  the  rule ;  he 
could  in  such  a  way  have  valued  a  whole  parish  in  a 
day,  if  he  got  to  the  top  of  a  high  mountain. 

With  respect  to  the  government  valuation,  have  you 
ascertained  the  proportion  the  rent  Dears  to  it?  I  beg 
to  remark  that  I  had  not  the  government  valuation  at 
time ;  it  was  afterwards  I  got  it ;  and  we  took  an  ac- 
count of  the  rental  of  the  towns,  not  as  they  are  classi- 
fied in  the  government  valuation,  but  merely  as  they 
are  classified  in  my  own  parish  book.  The  average  in 
Lower  Fahan,  I  should  say,  is  about  forty  per  cent 
higher  than  the  government  valuation,  and  in  some 
cases  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent,  higher,  and  even 
more  than  that. 

Are  those  particular  cases,  where  there  are  any  houses 
or  recent  improvements  to  make  that  difference  ?  With 
respect  to  recent  improvements,  in  one  case  the  people 
went  up  to  the  side  of  the  mountain  in  the  townland  of 
Meenamallaghan,  and  cultivated  the  land;  they  took 
that  at  20Z.  The  landlord's  son  went  up  the  hill  and 
looked  down  at  the  improvements  they  had  made,  and 
raised  them  to  42Z.,  and  served  them  with  ejectments  to 
leave  the  places,  or  come  up  with  him  to  the  42Z. 


APPENDIX. 

Was  he  a  middleman  or  a  proprietor  in  fee?  A  mid 
dleman. 

Have  you  any  means  of  knowing  what  the  gCTvern- 
ment  valuation  of  that  townland  was?  191.  Qs. ;  and  as 
I  was  informed  it  was  offered  for  9Z.  before  the  people 

went  there. 

Is  it  long  since  the  people  commenced  those  improve- 
ments ?    I  think  about  thirty  years  ago. 

Are  you  able  to  state  how  long  they  had  had  the  be- 
nefit of  their  improvements  at  the  lower  rent  ?  About 
twenty  to  twenty-one  years  at  that  time. 

How  long  is  it  since  the  rent  was  raised  from  *?0Z.  to 
42/.  From  seven  to  nine  years  ago  ?  I  cannot  say  with 
accuracy. 

How  soon  after  it  becomes  due  is  the  rent  usually 
called  for  ?  We  have  so  many  landlords,  and  the  cus- 
toms vary  so  much,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  say. 

Is  there  any  custom  in  the  country  in  reference  to  the 
receipt  of  rent  ?  A  great  deal  depends  upon  the  feeling 
of  the  landlord.  A  great  many  demand  it  immediately 
after  it  is  due.  I  should  say  some  demand  the  Novem- 
ber rent  on  the  1st  of  February,  and  others  sooner  than 
that ;  some  even  get  the  rent  before  it  is  due,  at  least 
they  send  for  it  on  the  very  day,  that  is  merely  by  way 
of  accommodation ;  the  principal  proprietors  in  the  place 
do  not  call  for  the  rent  so  soon.  I  think  about  the 
month  of  April  and  about  the  month  of  October  are  the 
usual  times. 

Is  there  any  payment  of  rent  by  bill  in  the  district 
with  which  you  are  acquainted?  Nothing  of  the  kind 
that  I  know  of. 

Does  the  tenant  depend  upon  the  loan  fund  or  local 


APPENDIX. 


201 


A  mid 

)  gcTvern- 
. ;  and  as 
le  people 

improve- 

id  the  be* 
•    About 

n  *>,0Z.  to 
i  say  with 

t  usually 
1  the  cus- 

ice  to  the 

le  feeling 

nediately 

Novena- 

ner  than 

at  least 

by  way 

he  place 

Dout  the 

r  are  the 

district 
the  kind 

or  local 


usurers  for  assistance  in  paying  his  rent?  With  respect 
to  the  loan  fund  in  Upper  Fahan,  I  believe  there  is  a 
great  deal  doing  in  that  way,  though  it  is  a  great  injury 
to  the  country.  The  persons  who  become  security  for 
those  poor  people  are  publicans  or  innkeepers,  or  keep 
shebeen  houses  along  the  way,  and  they  oblige  the  per- 
sons, as  I  am  informed,  to  drink  so  much,  and  if  they 
do  not  drink,  they  will  not  secure  them  again ;  they  lose 
a  great  deal  of  time  in  going  into  the  town,  and  they 
are  obliged  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  money. 

Are  there  any  local  Udurers  in  the  district,  and  what 
is  their  rate  of  interest  ?  We  have  mealmongers  in  the 
country,  who  give  out  oats  to  assist  them  in  seeding 
their  ground;  the  people  are  not  able  to  seed  their 
ground  from  being  so  poor ;  they  call  upon  the  meal- 
monger  and  he  gives  out  meal  to  them ;  there  is  a  kind 
of  contract ;  they  sell  dear  and  buy  cheap.  I  would  say 
that  when  meal  can  be  purchased  for  lOs.,  they  would  sell, 
it  at  the  highest  price,  from  14s.  to  165.,  or  even  higher 
than  that,  and  then  the  person  gives  his  promissory  note 
to  the  party  of  whom  he  has  purchased,  to  pay  him  a 
certain  sum ;  the  person  after  he  has  received  this  pro- 
mise to  pay,  buys  back  the  meal  at  95.,  one  shilling 
under  the  market  price,  and  besides  that,  they  often 
charge  them  two  shillings  over  again  for  their  trouble, 
and  with  the  money  the  poor  people  raise  in  that  way, 
they  purchase  their  seed  oats. 

What  is  the  usual  mode  of  recovering  rent  from  de- 
faulting tenants  ?     At  present  it  is  changed  somewhat ; 
they  impounded  the  cattle  formerly,  it  is  now  done  by 
marked  writs  or  civil  bill  process  and  decrees. 
0* 


202 


APPENDIX. 


Are  arrears  of  long  standing  held  over  against  the 
tenants?     I  think  not. 

Are  the  receipts  of  rent  usually  on  account,  or  up  to 
a  particular  da}'  ?  I  know  properties  where  a  receipt  is 
given  for  a  term  for  the  November  and  May  rent,  speci- 
fying it;  there  are  other  properties  upon  which  it  is 
given  on  account,  where  the  agent  wishes  either  to  de- 
fraud the  tenant  er  defraud  the  landlord. 

Is  the  tenure  immediately  under  the  proprietors  or 
under  middlemen,  and  what  is  the  condition  of  those 
holding  under  each  class  ?  We  have  very  few  middle- 
men. 

What  is  the  state  of  the  tenants  holding  undor  those 
middlemen  where  you  have  them 't  Some  are  in  a  de- 
plorable state. 

Do  the  tenants  hold  generally  at  will  or  by  lease? 
We  have  very  few  leases ;  they  hold  generally  at  will. 
I  might  almost  say  universally,  except  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Buncrana,  upon  one  property. 

What  effect  has  this  tenure  upon  the  condition  of  the 
tenantry  ?  The  effect  is  that  the  rents  are  double,  gene- 
rally augmented  by  the  caprice  or  avarice  of  the  land- 
lord. 

Do  you  find  that  the  increased  value  given  to  the 
land  by  the  labour  of  the  occupier,  has  been  charged 
upon  him  afterwards  in  the  shape  of  increased  rent? 
Yes,  I  think  so,  or  they  could  by  no  means  meet  the  de- 
mand. 

Have  you  had  opportunities  by  your  own  knowledge, 
of  ascertaining  that  this  is  the  case?  I  would  be  in- 
clined to  think  that  the  experience  I  have  throughout 
the  country  would  go  to  prove  it. 


APPENDIX. 


208 


inst  the 

or  Tip  to 
eceipt  is 
t,  speci- 
ch  it  is 
jr  to  de- 
leters or 
of  those 
•  middle- 

hr  those 
in  a  de- 


y  lease? 

at  will. 

ighbour- 

n  of  the 
le,  gene- 
he  land- 

L  to  the 
charged 
id  rent? 
the  de- 


^wledge, 
be  in- 


)U 


ghout 


From  what  do  you  draw  this  conclusion  ?  From  a 
comparison  of  the  rents  now  paid  in  the  district,  com- 
pared to  the  rents  which  I  have  been  informed  they 
paid  forty  years  ago. 

With  respect  to  permanent  improvements  upon  land, 
are  they  effected  by  the  landlord,  or  tenant,  or  jointly? 
I  would  say  that  by  both  are  those  improvements 
effected. 

In  what  proportion,  and  how  is  that  proportion  se- 
cured to  either  party?  The  landlord  is  secured  with 
respect  to  the  improvement  that  is  made ;  he  is  sure  of 
getting  the  benefit,  but  the  tenant  is  not;  he  has  no 
security,  except  the  humanity  of  the  landlord. 

Do  you  think  that  what  you  have  observed  in  the  in- 
crease of  the  rent,  according  to  the  improvement  pro- 
duced by  the  occupier,  has  had  the  effect  of  discouraging 
the  occupier  from  making  improvements  ?  Yes ;  I  think 
he  makes  no  improvement  except  through  sheer  neces- 
sity.    I  speak  generally,  there  may  be  exceptions. 

What  do  you  mean  by  sheer  necessity?  The  rent 
and  taxes  press  upon  him  so  hard  that  the  land  culti- 
vated hitherto  will  not  meet  the  demand,  and  he  is  ob- 
liged to  extend  his  cultivation. 

With  a  view  to  get  an  extended  amount  of  produce  ? 
Yes. 

He  derives  the  benefit  of  it  ?  He  is  more  or  less  able 
to  meet  the  demands ;  it  facilitates  the  payment  of  the 
demands  made  upon  him  in  the  way  of  taxation  and 
rent ;  but  with  regard  to  benefit,  I  would  consider  that 
the  tenant,  with  respect  to  clothing  and  the  comforts  of 
life,  derives  very  little. 


204 


APPENDIX. 


il 


Does  not  it  give  him  a  greater  amount  of  return  ? 
Yes,  a  greater  amount  of  return,  and  it  makes  him  more 
independent.  I  should  speak  more  correctly  if  I  said  it 
gave  the  landlord  a  greater  amount  of  return. 

Do  I  understand  that  the  tenant  in  the  first  instance 
brings  more  land  into  cultivation  in  order  to  meet  the 
demands  upon  him,  but  that  his  interest  in  it  is  dimin- 
ished, as  the  landlord  increases  the  rent  ?  I  sav  at  the 
present  time  the  tenant  has  to  pay  lOZ.  rent,  and  he  dis- 
poses of  all  the  corn  he  grov "  upon  the  land,  arid  that 
does  not  meet  the  10/. ;  he  is  therefore  obliged  to  bring 
in  pasture  land  out  of  the  mountain  to  enable  him  to 
pay  the  rent;  it  does  not  benefit  him,  it  makes  him 
more  independent  of  the  landlord  ;  if  he  did  not  pay  it 
he  would  be  turned  out  for  non-payment  of  rent. 

It  enables  him  to  pay  his*  rent  ?    Ye?. 

Supposdng  a  tenant  takes  a  farm,  which  in  its  unim- 
proved state,  gives  a  produce  worth  301.  a  year,  and  he 
lays  out  his  labour'  and  money  upon  it,  and  he  makes 
it  yield  an  amount  of  produce  worth  50?.  a  year,  and  he 
holds  it  at  the  same  rent  for  twenty  or  thirty  years,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  the  rent  is  increased,  do  you  not 
conceive  during  that  twenty  or  thirty  years  he  has  had 
a  return,  which  in  ordinary  cases,  would  repay  the  out- 
lay of  his  labour  and  capital  ?  I  would  say  that  he 
might  have  a  return,  provided  the  land  was  fruitful  and 
productive  during  that  time. 

Is  the  tenant-right,  or  sale  of  good-will,  prevalent  in 
the  district,  and  to  whom  is  the  purchase-money  paid  ? 
It  has  been  prevalent ;  but  it  has  been  much  restricted 
lately. 


APPENDIX. 


205 


etum  ? 

n  more 

said  it 

n  stance 
eet  the 

dimin- 
r  at  the 

he  dis- 
hd  that 
o  bring 
him  to 
:es  him 
t  pay  it 


s  unira- 
and  he 

makes 
and  he 
ears,  at 
iTou  not 
las  had 

le  out- 
ihat  he 
ful  and 

Jent  in 
paid? 
itricted 


Is  it  equally  allowed  to  tenants-at-will  as  to  persons 
having  leases  ?  Yes ;  I  think  it  was  more  so  in  some 
cases  to  tenants  holding  fftvm  year  to  year,  than  to  per- 
sons having  leases  which  have  expired.  I  have  some 
cases  which  I  can  show  illostrative  of  that. 

Have  you  known  cases  of  eviction  of  tenants  at-will 
without  compensation  for  their  tenant-right?  Yes,  I 
have ;  I  have  heard  it,  and  believe  it,  having  inquired 
into  the  facts.  Upon  one  townland  twelve  persons  were 
served  with  ejectment  process,  in  order  to  compel  them 
to  pay  a  sum  of  money  to  set  up  in  business  a  son  of 
the  proprietor,  who  had  lately  married ;  the  proprietor 
was  a  middleman ;  in  one  case  this  sum  amounted  to 
41Z.,  and  the  person  was  absolutely  turned  out  by  eject- 
ment, until  he  complied  with  the  demand,  and  then  he 
was  restored  to  his  farm  again,  paying  the  same  rent  as 
before.  In  another  case,  where  a  double  rent  was  de- 
manded at  the  expiration  of  the  le'ase  the  goods  were 
seized,  and  no  less  than  fourteen  keepers,  at  25.  6c?.  a 
day,  were  put  on  the  house  and  farm,  and  upon  the 
.pound.  Ahorse  had  been  seized,  which  was  cheap  at 
8Z. ;  it  was  sold,  but  the  poor  man  was  only  paid  IZ.,  the 
rest  having  gone  in  the  costs  of  the  distress. 

In  what  year  did  this  take  place?  This  occurred 
about  1831. 

Has  this  system  been  continued?  Yes,  it  has;  and 
fourteen  families,  consisting  of  seventy -six  individuals, 
have  been  ejected  within  the  last  fourteen  years  with- 
out any  compensation  on  one  townland,  and  two  of 
them  were  obliged  to  pay  the  law  expenses :  that  is 
the  statement  I  have  received.    Four  of  those  cases 


206 


APPENDIX. 


have  occurred  lately,  and  some  of  them  had  paid  as 
much  as  from  60/.  to  100/.  originally  for  the  tenant- 
right  ;  they  were  not  alloweob  to  sell  it ;  they  did  not 
get  a  penny  of  compensation,  and  the  stones  of  one 
person's  dwelling  when  thrown  down,  were  afterwards 
sold  to  the  contractor  for  four  guineas. 

Do  you  believe  that  many  cases  have  occurred  where 
persons  have  been  ejected  because  they  would  not  pay 
double  rent  in  the  way  you  have  mentioned?  I  think 
there  are  few  cases  in  which  they  have  been  ejected 
because  they  would  not  pay  the  double  rent. 

Have  you  heard  any  complaints  of  the  manner  in 
which  distresses  are  made  in  the  district  with  which 
you  are  connected?    Yes,  very  many. 

What  has  been  the  nature  of  them?  The  bailiff 
going  and  seizing  the  cows  and  horses,  and  bringing 
them  to  the  pound,  without  having  the  permission  of 
the  agent,  in  order* to  raise  money;  on  one  property  I 
know  very  well,  a  young  man,  the  son  of  the  bailiff 
who  had  been  employed  there,  was  in  the  habit  of 
doing  business  for  the  father,  and  he  was  in  the  habit  of  , 
going  down  to  the  townlands  and  stopping  there  during 
the  night,  and  seizing  as  many  cattle  as  would  raise  as 
much  as  30s.  or  IZ.,  and  come  up  to  town  and  spend  it 
in  drinking.  • 

Are  these  cases  of  improper  distress  frequent  in  that 
country  ?     I  think  so. 

Is  that  bailiff  employed  now  ?  No,  neither  of  them  is 
employed  as  bailiff  now.   * 

Is  it  a  frequent  practice  in  the  country  to  serve  no- 
tices to  quit  upon  the  tenants,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 


paid  OS 
tenant- 
did  not 
of  one 
jrwards 

i  where 

not  pay 

I  think 

ejected 

,nner  in 
b.  which 

e  bailiff 

bringing 

ssion  of 

operty  I 

e  bailiff 

abit  of 

habit  of  . 

during 

raise  as 

spend  it 

It  in  that 

them  is 

^rve  no- 
se of  re- 


APPKXDIX. 


207 


covering  the  rents?  Yes,  and  for  other  purposes ;  to 
keep  them  in  the  state  of  serfs,  in  order  that  the  tenants 
may  be  altogether  under  their  control.  I  think  the 
notices  to  quit  are  served  upon  them  in  order  to  make 
them  more  dependent  in  spirit. 

Are  those  notices  to  quit  attended  with  costs  to  the 
tenant?     No,  they  are  not. 

Are  the  proceedings  attendant  upon  the  notice  to 
quit  attended  with  costs?  Yea.  I  would  state  the 
general  amount  charged  for  an  ejectment  process;  in 
some  cases  it  is  25^.,  and  in  others  1^.  6d. 

Do  you  conceive  that  these  cases  are  frequently  brought 
to  raise  a  certain  sum  of  money  from  the  tenant  in  the 
shape  of  law  costs  ?  On  my  oath  I  believe  there  are 
cases  in  which  these  ejectment  processes  are  served  for 
that  purpose.  I  have  heard  and  believe,  that  a  certain 
agent  was  in  the  custom  upon  the  Sabbath  Day,  to  go 
into  a  certain  house,  and  having  got  leave  to  put  an  at- 
torney's name  upon  the  process,  they  were  served,  and  by 
that  means  put  money  into  the  party's  pocket — that  I 
have  heard  from  the  clergyman ;  there  were  seventy-five 
processes  served,  and  25s.  each  charged  upon  them,  in 
the  parish  of  Clonmany,  in  the  last  few  years. 

In  reference  to  the  payment  of  rent,  is  there  a  practice 
existing  of  requiring  a  fine  in  case  the  rent  is  not  regu- 
larly paid  ?  I  do  not  know  of  it  being  the  case  except 
upon  one  property. 

Is  it  still  the  case  there  ?    Yes,  as  far  as  I  understand. 

Are  you  able  to  state  to  the  commissioners  what  was 
the  amount  of  that  fine  ?  It  was  25.  6c?.  if  they  did  not 
pay  the  rent  upon  the  day ;  there  is  a  certain  day  ap- 


208 


APPENDIX. 


pointed,  and  if  they  do  not  pay  their  rent  that  day  they 
are  lined  2s.  6d.,  and  after  paying  the  lino,  if  they  keep 
it  longer  after  the  first  week  they  are  charged  at  the  rate 
of  Is.  in  the  pound ;  that  was  the  statement  made  to  mo 
by  a  very  respectable  person. 

With  regard  to  the  tenant-right,  do  you  know  of  your 
knowledge  that  it  is  now  the  practice  in  the  district  with 
which  you  are  acquainted,  to  refuse  to  allow  a  person  to 
purchase  the  tenant-right,  and  thereby  to  become  the 
tenant,  upon  political  or  religious  grounds?  I  have 
heard  of  it  occurring  upon  one  property,  but  that  is  a  few 
years  ago. 

Does  the  system  of  binding  the  tenant  to  a  particular 
mill  still  continue  in  your  district  ?  Yes,  on  one  property 
they  are  bound  to  the  mill,  though  the  mill  does  not 
exist. 

Is  there  any  differences  in  the  management  of  estates 
of  different  classes ;  for  example,  the  estates  of  large  or 
small  proprietors,  or  the  estates  of  absentee  and  resident 
proprietors  ?    I  think  there  is  very  little  difference. 

Have  you  any  suggestions  to  make  as  to  any  amend- 
ment that  might  be  made  in  the  existing  law  that  affects 
landlords  and  tenants  ?  I  wish  to  make  some  remarks 
upon  the  subject  of  the  answers  to  some  queries  which  I 
circulated  among  a  great  number  of  townlands.  I  have 
received  answers  from  thirty  or  forty  townlands,  in  which 
it  is  stated,  that  after  paying  rent,  county  cess,  &c.,  there 
remains  but  a  few  potatoes  for  the  support  of  their  fami- 
lies ;  that  not  above  three  or  four,  on  the  average,  are 
able  to  sow  their  land  in  seedtime  without  getting  trust 
meal,  which  they  sell  for  ready  money  to  buy  seed; 


AFPSNDIX* 


209 


Iny  they 
ey  keep 
the  rate 
le  to  mo 

of  your 
riot  with 
erson  to 
ome  the 
I  have 
t  is  a  few 

larticular 
property 
does  not 

)f  estates 
large  or 
resident 
ice. 

amend- 
it  affects 
remarks 
which  I 
I  have 
I  in  which 
tc,  there 
leir  fami- 
[rage,  are 
[ng  trust 
ly  seed; 


that  there  are  not  above  four  or  five  townlands  in 
the  number  in  which  there  are  feather  beds  at  all. 
Considering  the  rents  wrhich  the  tenantry  are  obliged  to 
pay  throughout  the  country,  and  comparing  those  rents 
with  the  rate  of  the  markets,  and  considering  that  a  great 
portion  of  the  rents  were  imposed  in  war  time,  when  the 
produce  was  three  times  the  value  it  is  at  present,  I  would, 
in  the  first  place,  suggest  that  there  should  be  a  re-valua- 
tion of  the  lands,  and  that  there  should  be  confidence 
given  to  all  parties.  I  would,  with  all  deference,  suggest 
that  there  should  be  a  valuator  appointed  by  the  landlord, 
a  valuator  appointed  by  the  people  in  vestry,  and  that 
the  government  should  appoint  an  arbiter  with  respect  to 
those  two  valuers,  that  in  case  the  valuator  on  the  part 
of  the  landlord,  and  the  valuator  on  the  part  of  the  ten- 
ant, should  not  agree,  the  government  arl:^iter  should  be 
called  upon  to  settle  the  difference. 

Have  you  any  other  suggestion  you  wish  to  make  ? 
Secondly,  I  would  submit  that  after  this  valuation,  leases 
should  be  given  for  a  certain  number  of  years  to  the  ten- 
ants, so  as  to  secure  to  them  the  fruits  of  their  industry. 
I  would  specify  the  chief  terms,  in  order  to  make  myself 
more  distinct,  twenty-one  years,  forty-one  years,  and 
sixty-one  years.  A  landlord  giving  a  lease  for  twenty- 
one  years,  I  would  suggest  that  a  certain  portion  of  the 
improvements  should  go  to  the  landlord,  and  that  the 
tenant,  before  he  could  be  ejected  from  the  property, 
should  be  paid  for  a  certain  portion,  as  his  term  is  shorter. 
I  should  say  that  two- thirds  of  the  value  of  the  improve- 
ments should  go  to  the  tenant,  and  one-third  to  the  land 
lord,  to  induce  him  to  grant  leases.    In  the  case  of  a  forty- 


210 


APPENDIX. 


one  years'  lease,  I  should  say  that  it  should  bo  one  half  that 
should  be  paid  to  the  landlord ;  and  in  the  case  of  a 
sixty-one  years'  lease,  I  should  think  the  tenant  recom- 
pensed, and  that  the  landlord  then  might  have  another 
valuation.  Upon  what  I  would  call  immutable  justice,  I 
think  the  tenant  is  entitled  to  his  improvements  in  every 
case ;  but,  as  there  must  be  a  compromise,  that  is  a  sugges- 
tion I  would  make.  I  would  suggest  again  to  the  gentry 
of  the  country,  that  the  persons  employed  by  the  gentry  of 
the  country  as  bailiffs,  should  be  persons  of  good  charac- 
ter. There  is  nothing  so  destructive  to  the  peace  of  the 
community,  and  no  one  thing  which  has  created  so  much 
bad  feeling,  as  the  miscreants  who  have  been  appointed 
by  the  gentry  of  the  country  to  manage  their  property 
for  them ;  I  mean  the  under-bailiffs,  they  are  generally 
persons  who  have  no  respect  for  their  word  or  their  oaths, 
and  are  capable  of  doing  any  one  thing.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  I  reside,  there  are  two  persons  employ- 
ed as  bailiffs ;  one  of  them  was  turned  off  by  the  barris- 
ter, Henn,  because  he  could  not  decide  conscientiously 
upon  any  case  in  which  he  was  concerned,  and  that  per- 
son has  the  management  of  a  very  extensive  property. 
I  consider  that  many  of  the  acts  done,  which  reflect  dis- 
grace upon  the  agent,  are  attributable  to  the  misrepresen- 
tations of  this  person.  I  would  suggest  the  removal  of 
those  persons,  and  the  employment  of  persons  of  sober 
habits  and  good  character. 

Have  you  any  other  suggestion  you  wish  to  offer  to  the 
commissioners  ?  In  case  the  tenants  should  get  leases  for 
terms  of  years,  I  should  suggest  that  a  few  acres  of  land 
should  be  set  apart  for  national  schools,  for  the  purpose  of 


APPENDIX. 


2U 


lalf  that 
ISO  of  a 
,  recom- 
another 
usticc,  I 
n  every 
.  sugges- 
B  gentry 
entry  of 
L  charac- 
se  of  the 
80  much 
ppointed 
property 
generally 
sir  oaths, 
e  neigh- 
employ- 
|e  barris- 
mtiously 
that  per- 
[roperty. 
ect  dis- 
lepresen- 
loval  of 
if  sober 


training  the  children  in  agricultural  pursuits,  which  could 
be  done  easily.  In  the  mountain  districts  we  are  establish- 
ing school,  with  the  assistance  of  the  gentry  in  the  neigh  • 
borhood.  There  is  one  remark  I  would  make  as  to  the 
decrease  of  the  population.  I  think  I  can  speak  of  the 
inhabitants  of  all  sects,  and  I  do  not  think  they  have  in- 
creased in  the  last  thirteen  years.  In  Upper  Fahan  there 
has  been  a  reduction  of  180  in  the  last  thirteen  years ; 
this  I  attribute  to  the  want  of  comfort  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  and  the  harrassing  system  they  are  exposed  to ; 
they  are  obliged  to  work  harder  than  they  were  formerly. 
Ten  or  twenty  years  ago  they  were  not  obliged  to  work 
half  so  much ;  their  comforts  have  diminished  and  their 
labor  has  increased ;  the  population  not  keeping  up  with 
the  ratio  of  propagation,  as  the  expression  is,  I  would 
say  it  is  attributable  to  the  great  number  of  deaths  we 
have  in  tbe  country,  and  the  very  few  marriages. 


er  to  the 

bases  for 

of  land 

Irpose  of 


212 


APPENDIX. 


LETTER  TO  THE  CORK  TENANT  LEAGUE. 

BuNCRANA,  May  4, 1847. 
Sir — ^It  is  with  extreme  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  awful 
pressure  of  the  times,  that  I  can  Bteal  a  moment  &om  the 
duties  they  impose,  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
esteemed  favor,  and  to  convey  to  your  committee  the  ex- 
pression of  my  warmest  gratitude  for  the  too  kind  and  hon- 
orahle  notice  they  have  taken  of  me.  I  regret  to  have  to 
say  that  the  rules,  address,  and  pamphlet  to  which  you 
allude  in  your  communication,  have  not  as  yet  reached  me. 
The  regret  however  is  being  alleviated  by  the  lucid,  forcible, 
and  truly  eloquent  exposition  of  your  principles  made  in  the 
admirable  letter  I  had  from  you.  To  these  principles  I  can 
have  po  hesitation  in  giving  my  adhesion — ^no  reason  to  re- 
fuse them  my  support  or  my  approval.  From  the  time  I 
was  able  to  think,  they  were  my  own.  They  grew  with  my 
growth,  and  strengthened  with  my  strength.  Every  day's 
bitter  experience  of  the  barbarous  system  of  landlord  rule, 
fenced  round  by  laws  innumerable,  to  render  it  in  mischief 
effective,  and  secure  it  against  the  reaction  natural  to  mis- 
deeds, gave  them  in  my  mind,  if  possible,  a  still  more 
enduring  fixity ;  and  if  I  longed  for  anything,  it  was  for 
such  a  reunion  as  yours — ^moral,  peaceful,  constitutional, 
yet  resolute,  and  determined  to  subvert  that  system,  or 
force  its  abettors  to  capitulate  to  what  they  never  yet,  as  a 
body,  recognized — ^pity  or  equity,  or  both.  The  principles 
of  your  league  are  the  unmixed  principles  of  commutative 
justicd.  TliB  contracts  hitherto  between  landlord  and  tenant 
may  have  been  legal ;  they  were  not  generally  just.  The 
tenant,  from  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he  was 


APPKNDIX. 


213 


,  1847. 
the  awful 
from  the 
of  your 
B  the  ex- 
and  hon- 
;o  have  to 
hich  you 
iched  me. 
,  forcible, 
ade  in  the 
pies  I  can 
son  to  re- 
le  time  I 
r  with  my 
rery  day's 
[lord  rule, 
mischief 
I  to  mis- 
till  more 
was  for 
itutional, 
stem,  or 
yet,  as  a 
rinciples 
mutative 
id  tenant 
it.     The 
he  was 


placed,  could  not  ascend  to  that  level  with  the  proprietor 
which  a  contract,  to  be  just  or  binding  in  conscience,  essen- 
tially requires.  He  was  not  a  free  agent.  It  was,  with  him, 
"  land  or  death !"  The  "  equalitas  rei  ad  rem^^  was  placed 
in  abeyance,  or  forced  to  yield  by  the  alternative  of  starva- 
tion in  the  prospective,  whilst  the  caprice  or  avarice  of  the 
lord  of  the  soil  became  the  sole  criterion  of  its  value.  A 
landlord  parliament  of  course  sanctioned  the  injustice  which 
rapacity  exacted,  and  inscribed  in  the  head  of  the  book  of 
their  legislation,  as  an  incontrovertible  maxim,  ^'  that  the 
proprietors  had  a  right  to  do  what  they  pleased  with  their 
own" — a  dictum,  if  taken  without  limitation,  destructive  of 
morals,  religion,  and  society.  This  right,  in  their  hands, 
assumed  a  comprehensiveness,  to  which  the  modern  and 
ancient  worlds  were  almost  strangers — I  said  almost,  for 
Nero,  as  we  read,  burned  Rome  on  a  principle  somewhat 
similar.  This  right  of  the  lords  of  the  soil  was  being  not 
only  extended  to  the  fruit  of  the  tenant's  labor,  to  the  ox, 
the  ass,  the  man-servant,  and  maid-servant  of  the  husband- 
man, but  to  his  very  soul  and  body ;  for  even  with  these  to 
do  what  they  pleased,  many  of  them  claimed  an  unques- 
tionable right.  Nothing  ever  approached  to  this  barathrum 
marcelli  principle  of  theirs,  but  the  right  given,  permitted, 
or  assumed  by  Saul  over  a  rebellious  people — the  just  pen- 
alty of  revolt  against  the  indulgent  sovereignty  of  their 
Lord : — "  He  will  take  your  sons,  and  put  them  in  his 
chariots,  and  make  them  his  horsemen  and  his  footmen,  and 
he  will  appoint  them  to  plough  his  fields  and  reap  his  corn. 
Your  daughters  he  will  take  to  be  his  cooks  and  bakers. 
He  will  take  your  fields  and  vineyards,  and  your  best  olive- 
yards,  and  give  them  to  his  servants.    Your  servants  also 


214 


APPENDIX. 


and  your  handmaids  and  your  good  bred  young  men  and 
your  asses  he  will  take  away,  and  put  them  to  his  own  work. 
\  our  flocks  also  he  will  take,  and  you  shall  be  his  servants," 
etc — 1st  Kings,  chap.  8th.  SauPs  right  they  have  ever 
claimed  as  theirs,  in  Ireland ;  SauPs  rapacity  they  have 
literally  imitated ;  SauPs  destiny  I  do  not,  however,  wish 
them.  Saul's  right  ended  in  a  bloody  rebellion  in  which  he 
lost  his  crown  and  life.  Theirs,  I  fondly  hope,  will  end 
with  the  famine  and  pestilence  it  has  created,  or  eventuate 
in  a  fair  and  equitable  adjustment  of  their  and  your  rights. 
They  cannot  lose  by  having  this  right  abridged,  or  crushed 
into  proper  dimensions.  It  only  worked  ruin  to  themselves 
and  the  nation — its  only  produce. 

Dead  sea  fhtits  that  tempt  the  eye 
Bttt  turn  to  ashes  on  the  lip. 

With  us,  I  am  happy  to  be  be  able  to  say,  tenant  right 
is,  at  least,  partially  admitted,  and  many  even  practically 
admit  the  other  duties  which  property  imposes :  but  they 
are,  alas!  comparatively  few — ^these  just  and  good  men, 
like  streaks  of  glory  scattered  here  and  there  on  our  other- 
wise dark  and  dismally  clouded  sky,  such  men  as  Sharman 
Crawford, 'the  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  the  Marquis  of 
Abercom,  Earl  Gosford,  and  some  others  of  all  creeds 
whom  it  is  needless  to  mention,  prominently  stand  forth,  as 
beacon  lights,  not  surpassed  in  beneficent  splendour  by  the 
proprietary  of  any  other  country.  Verily  they  have  their 
reward  in  their  happy  tenantry  who  look  up  to  them  with 
pride  and  affection,  punctually  pay  their  rents,  and  securely 
repose  in  the  shade  of  their  own  "  vine  and  fig-tree."  To- 
gether with  the  tenant  right,  the  principle  of  compensation 
for  improvements  by  €ome,  is  being  admitted — they  receive 


APPENDIX. 


215 


I  men, 
other- 


of  course  the  full  valuo  of  their  lands  without  trouble  and 
are  moreover  repaid,  by  way  of  interest,  with  the  bonodio- 
tions  of  a  peaceable,  prosperous,  and  confemtcd  people.  It 
is  passing  strange  that  principles  working  so  much  good — 
so  evidently  just,  so  indisputable,  could  have  any  adver- 
saries pretending  to  common  sense,  or  to  any  clear  notions 
of  equity,  or  even  of  their  own  interests. 

The  Cotton-grower  of  Lancaster,  South  Carolina,  has  as 
much  right  to  claim,  without  compensation,  the  calicoes  of 
Manchester,  Glasgow,  or  Paisley,  because  he  supplied  to 
the  manufacturer  the  raw  material,  as  the  landlord  has  to 
the  tenant's  improvements,  because  he  let  him  the  land. 
To  thrust  men  out  on  the  world  who  reclaimed  the  bleak 
and  barren  mountain  side  of  deep  morass,  not  value  for  6d. 
per  acre,  until,  fertilized  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  and 
made  valuable  by  their  toil  and  capital,  may  have  a  sanc- 
tion in  law,  but  has  none  from  justice — may  be  the  act  of 
a  professing  Christian,  but  is  not,  surely,  the  doing  of  an 
honest  man.  Again,  to  increase  the  rent  as  the  tenant  im- 
proves, and  tax  his  industry,  is  not  only  flagitiously  unjust, 
but,  practically,  a  premium  on  indolence.  Your  scale  for 
adjusting  or  regulating  the  burthens  to  be  respectively  borne 
by  landlord  and  tenant,  is  so  strictly  impartial,  that  no 
reasonable  man  could  object  to  it ;  no  just  man  would.  1 
am  delighted  to  have  to  inform  you,  that  the  tenant  class 
in  Ulster  are  becoming  alive  to  the  necessities  of  the  times, 
and  the  truly  perilous  position  in  which  they  are  being 
placed.  Your  principles — your  fears — ^your  hopes — are 
theirs ;  and,  in  the  partial  enjoyment  of  some  favors  you  do 
not  possess,  feeling  them  to  be  precarious,  they  seek  like 
you  to  establish  them  on  an  immutable  basis.    They  have 


216 


APPENDIX. 


H 


able  advocates  in  the  northern  press — the  Belfast  Vindica- 
tor,  the  J^Torthren  Whigy  and  in  the  Derry  Journal,  and 
Standard,  and  they  have  zealous,  vigorous  supporters; 
whilst  their  adversaries  are  only  being  sustained  by  the 
merest  drivellers  that  ever  figured  in  a  Dunciad.  You  have 
with  you  the  liberal  press  of  Dublin,  the  feelings  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  English  people,  who  detest  your  oppressors — 
the  sympathies  of  the  world ;  and,  what  is  better  than  all, 
on  your  side  is  justice  and  Erin,  on  theirs  is  oppression  and 
guilt.  If  it  be  not  your  own  fault,  you  must  succeed,  and 
your  success  will  lay  the  foundation  of  Ireland's  prosperity ; 
for  even  a  Repeal  of  the  Union,  without  the  full  recognition 
of  your  rights,  would  be  of  small  service  to  our  country.  I 
see,  moreover,  in  the  constitution  of  your  committee,  the 
successful  issue  of  the  glorious  struggle  to  which  you  are 
committed.  It  comprises  men  of  every  creed,  united  by 
the  strong  ties  of  brotherhood,  and  viewing  man  as  he  is, 
by  the  still  stronger  ties  of  mutual  interest  to  work  out  a 
common  good.  Religion,  that  should  bring  you  together 
for  purposes  of  universal  benevolence,  can  no  longer  be 
made,  by  the  crafty,  designing,  or  wickedly  interested,  to 
keep  you  asunder ;  nor  can  you  henceforth,  by  any  insidious 
legerdemain,  be  induced  to  see  in  the  face  of  a  fellow-coun- 
tryman, because  he  differs  from  you  in  creed,  that  of  an 
finemy.  Ireland,  you  feel,  is  sufficient  for  us  all,  intended 
by  a  gracious  Providence  to  make  us  all  happy  together. 
A  few  rapacious  men,  by  sowing  discord  in  the  name  of  God 
and  religion,  made  it  the  most  miserable  land  on  earth. 
They  stirred  up  Protestant  and  Catholic  to  hate,  and  fool- 
ishly war  with  each  other — like  the  mouse  and  the  frog  of 
the  fable,  with  this  difference,  that,  instead  of  the  straw,  and 
9* 


APPENDIX. 


217 


Vindicd' 
'not,  and 
^porters ; 
1  by  the 
You  have 
the  great 
ressors — 
than  all, 
ssion  and 
ceed,  and 
•osperity ; 
^cognition 
nntry.     I 
littee,  the 
1  you  are 
united  by 
as  he  is, 
)rk  out  a 
I  together 
longer  be 
ested,  to 
insidious 
llow-coun- 
Ihat  of  an 
intended 
together, 
e  of  God 
m  earth, 
and  fool- 
lO  frog  of 
traw.and 


the  bulrush,  they  armed  them  with  bayonet,  and  bludgeon, 
and  marshalled  them  on  to  murderous,  reckless  and  ridicu- 
lous conflict ;  that,  whilst  engaged  in  this  silly  yet  suicidal 
strife,  they  might,  vulture-like,  pounce  upon,  seize,  and 
swallow  up  both  as  a  morsel  of  bread.  Ynu  are  happily,  I 
see,  unlearning  the  lesson  they  taught  you,  and  beginning, 
to  their  great  dismay,  to  enquire  at  length,  with  your  old 
fellow  su£ferers  of  Mantua, 

En,  quo  diecordla  Gives 
Perdaxlt  miseroa  I  En  quels  consevimua  agros. 

He  who  is  not  "  the  God  of  dissension,  but  of  Peace,"  will, 
I  cherish  the  hope,  bless  your  united  efforts  ;  and  history 
will  have  to  record  that  the  sweet  Mononia,  that  gav6  us  a 
Boirhoime,  a  Cormac,  a  Curran,  Fathers  O'Leary  and 
Mathew,  and  an  O'Connell,  crushed  the  head  of  a  serpent 
more  venomous  than  any  banished  by  our  great  apostles 
from  our  land — a  greater  "  monster"  than  the  Kraaken  of 
the  northren  ocean,  or  that  which  swallowed  up  Jonas  alive ; 
turned  the  dense  mist  of  misery  which  shrouded  our  island 
into  sunbeams ;  brought  security,  comfort,  and  gladness 
around  the  peasant's  hearth ;  and  made  Ireland,  what  she 
ought  to  be,  with  all  bounteous  gifts  of  Heaven  to  her,  the 
happiest  kingdom  on  earth.  Even  the  Patrician,  whom 
you  shall  have  forced  to  descend  from  the  giddy  and  un- 
certain eyrie  of  domineering  injustice  to  the  smoother,  safer 
plane  of  equity,  will  thank  you  for  the  service  rendered  him 
in  giving  him,  at  length,  a  resting-place,  more  noble  and 
more  secure  than  any  he  ever  occupied,  in  the  hearts  and 
affections  of  a  grateful  tenantry.  Posterity,  of  course,  will 
point  to  Cork,  whence  the  tenant  league,  like  another  Cor- 
nelia, sent  forth  its  jewels,  to  redeem  and  rescue  our  com- 


218 


APPENDIX. 


mon  country  from  the  most  galling  link  in  the  whole  cham 
of  her  hondage.  These  hurried,  scattered  remarks  on  one 
of  the  most  important  suhjeots  that  have  arrested  the  at* 
tention  of  Irislmien,  elicited  aa  ihey  have  been  by  your  elo> 
quent  letter,  you  will  receive  with  that  indulgence  they 
require.  However  faint  and  imperfect,  they  are  still  the 
approving  echo  <^  your  own  admirable  sentiments. 

Believe  me,  with  earnest  hopeful  aspirations  for  the  suc- 
cess of  your  committee,  your  most  obliged  and  obedient 
servant,  •!•  Edward  Maginn. 

W.  H.  Trenwith,  Esq.,  Hon.  Sec,  &c.  &c. 


■'■,1 


AFFXt^DIX. 


219 


TO  DR.  Mcknight,  of  derry.  ' 

BuNCBANA,  October  27, 1847. 
Sib, — I  have,  in  all  sincerity,  to  express  my  deep 
regret  that,  from  indisposition,  I  cannot  realize  the 
pleasing  hope  which — on  my  departure  from  Dublin, 
and  even  up  to  this  moment — I  fondly  entertained — of 
jbeing  able  to  assist  at  the  dinner  which  the  tenant  farm- 
ers of  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  the  enlightened  and 
respectable  mercantile  classes  of  the  city  of  Derry,  pur- 
pose giving  this  evening  to  that  distinguished  patriot — 
the  long-tried  and  genuine  friend  of  the  Irish  agricultur- 
ist— Sharman  Crawford,  Esq.  But  few — very  few  in 
Ireland — have  so  well  deserved  such  a  compliment  at 
our  hands.  His  views,  the  most  matured — ^the  practical 
and  benefioal  example  he  sets  on  his  own  estates  com- 
mensurate with  his  views — his  integrity  so  unbending — 
his  energy  and  perseverence  so  indomitable ;  through 
good  report  and  evil  report  it  was  with  him  "  still  on- 
ward," no  matter  how  checked  or  contravened,  to  im- 
prove the  condition  of  the  farming  population  depressed 
by  systematic  misrule,  and  discouraged  by  the  precarious 
titles  on  which  their  right,  yea,  their  very  existence, 
depended.  He  hoped  against  hope— unassisted,  unbe- 
friended;  he  battled  still  for  justice,  exhibiting  in  his 
person  the  most  beautiful  object  on  which  the  eye  of 
heaven  can  rest — 'The  just  man  struggling  with  advers- 
ity.' To  do  such  men  honour  is  meet,  is  just,  and  to 
omit  this  duty  would  be,  on  the  part  of  those  for  whom" 
he  struggled,  base  ingratitude.  Though  absent  in  body, 
I  am  present  with  you  in  heart  and  spirit  to  pay  him 


220 


APPBlJblX. 


every  mark  of  respect.  My  humble  but  sincere  concur- 
rence you  have  in  the  cause  in  which  you  are  embarked, 
and  as  far  as  my  influence  can  go,  it  shall  be  cordially 
exerted  to  co-operate  with  you  in  bringing  your  praise- 
worthy purpose  to  a  successful  issue. 

I  further,  in  all  earnestness,  respond  to  the  beautiful 
sentiment  which  your  committee  (composed  as  it  is  of  the 
most  respectable  Protestants  and  Presbyterians)  with  a 
confidence  I  shall  always  highly  value  entrusted  to  my 
keeping.  It  is  a  delightful  sentiment — ever  the  fondest 
desire  of  my  heart.  I  longed — ^I  sighed  to  see  it  real 
ized — a  sentiment  not  less  patriotic  than  Christian, 
which,  if  felt  and  understood,  and  brought  into  lively 
universal  action,  would  shortly  raise  our  country  from 
the  depths  of  unparalleled  misery,  in  whioh  she  has  been 
plunged,  to  that  station  which  God  and  nature  intended 
her  to  occupy  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Union 
among  all  classes  and  creeds  in  Ireland — a  blissful  senti- 
ment, and  the  only  panacea  for  all  the  evils  our  unhappy 
country  endures.  And  why,  Sir,  should  we  not  be 
united  in  all  things  conducive  to  the  common  weal? 
By  nature,  we  are  all  brethren ;  in  society,  we  are  all 
members  of  the  same  body.  Eeligion,  the  loveliest 
daughter  of  Heaven,  whose  name  is  union,  and  whose 
mission  is  peace — religion  given  us  by  the  God  of  lOve 
to  bind  man  to  his  fellow-man,  and  men  to  the  Being 
that  made  them,  should  not  surely  be  made  the  occasion 
of  keeping  us  asunder — that  religion  which  sees  in  the 
face  of  an  enemy  that  of  a  brother — which,  not  no  mat- 
ter under  what  dress  or  form  she  be  presented  to  us, 
must  have  charity  as  the  very  soul  of  her  existence. 


5oncur- 
)arkecl, 
•rdially 
praise- 

jautiful 
s  of  the 
with  a 
to  my 
fondest 
it  real 
Lristian, 
)  lively 
py  from 
as  been  . 
i  tended 
Union 
1  senti- 
happy 
Inot  be 
weal? 
are  all 
iveliest 
whose 
f  love 
Being 
3casion 
in  the 
10  mat- 
to  us, 
Istence. 


APPENDIX. 


221 


Why  should  she  be  made  a  bone  of  dissension,  oi^  an 
apple  of  discord  among  us?  Union,  then,  for  every 
good  purpose ;  but  union  especially  among  all  creeds  to 
remove  the  monster  injustice  that  afflicts  our  country : 
union  to  adjust  at  once  and  for  ever  the  rights  of  man, 
and  the  rights  of  property — to  establish,  on  the  basis  of 
the  strictest  equity,  the  rights  of  landlord  and  tenant. 
Union  in  such  a  cause  is  blissful,  big  with  hope  and  hap- 
piness for  our  country — for  it  is,  undoubtedly,  the  cause 
of  God — of  patriotism — of  charity  in  its  purest  sense, 
and  of  immutable  justice !  It  is  the  cause  of  God,  who 
never  intended  that  creatureci  made  to  His  own  immortal 
image  should  be  treated  as  the  agriculturists  of  Ireland 
have  been  hitherto  "  in  their  own,  their  native  land ;"  the 
cause  of  our  country  made  a  ragged,  forlorn,  and  discon- 
solate beggar,  by  this  system,  at  every  gate  in  Christen- 
dom. It  is  decidedly  the  cause  of  charity ;  for  if  it  be 
charitable  to  assist  for  God's  sake,  an  individual  brother 
man — ^to  feed  him  when  hungry — ^to  clothe  him  when 
naked,  and  to  shelter  him  from  the  pitiless  storm,  when 
a  houseless  outcast,  etc.,  how  much  more  so  to  raise  a 
nation  of  paupers — of  miserable  serfs — to  a  condition  of 
comfort,  security,  and  independenc&r-to  give  thema  hap- 
py, home,  and  prevent  them  from  being  made  homeless. 
Your  cause,  and  the  cause  of  your  league,  is  the  cause 
of  immutable  justice.  Justice,  if  I  understand  it  right, 
considering  it  as  a  virtue,  is  that  which  constantly  dis- 
poseth  us  to  give  to  every  man  his  rights.  And  have 
not  the  tenant  class  their  rights  as  well  as  the  landlord 
class  ?  I  fully  admit  the  right  of  the  proprietor  of  the 
soil.     I  deny  his  having  any  right,  now  and  for  ever,  to 


222 


APPENDIX. 


either  the  prospective  or  retrospective  improvements  of 
his 'tenants.  Tho  rav*'^  material  is  the  landlord*s;  the 
manufacture  is  the  tenant^s. 

If  I  have  made  his  land  comparatively  profitable  from 
being  unprofitable,  what  right  haa  he  to  the  profits  aris- 
ing purely  fi^m  ray  labour  ?  Not  more  than  the  pro- 
prietor of  a  marble  quarry  would  have  to  the  statue 
when  chiselled  and  shaped  by  the  skilful  hand  of  the 
artist  into  forms  the  most  beautiful — ^into  things  breath- 
ing life.  To  the  value  of  the  rude  block  he  could  justly 
claim  a  title— to  exact  beyond  it,  even  under  the  form 
of  law,  would  be  iniquitous.  To  extort  it  by  force 
would  be  to  rob  the  statuary  of  the  fruits  of  his  skill  and 
labour.  Again,  men  have  an  original  natural  right  to 
live  on  the  Innds  on  which  they  were  bred  and  born. 
The  earth  and  its  fulness  is  the  domain  of  each  and  all. 
Their  right  is  being  based  on  the  clearest  expression  of 
the  Divine  will.  '•  You  have  made  him  little  less  than 
the  angels,  and  placed  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands." 
Ps.  The  least  infringement  on  this  universal  natural 
right  by  the  division  of  the  earth,  or  the  transfer  of  the 
division  of  any  portion  of  it  to  individuals,  would  be 
only  justifiable  in  the  hypothesis  of  its  having  been 
made  for  the  general  good  of  society.  This  natural  right 
has  been,  by  law,  in  Ireland  lost  sight  of,  or  placed  in 
utter  abeyance  for  the  supposed  benefit  of  individuals — 
themselves  the  makers  of  this  law.  It  was  not  for  the 
public  good,  nor  even  for  the  good  of  the  individuals  in 
whose  favor  it  was  made.  Witness  the  results:  The 
farming  classes  have  been  beggared  by  it ;  the  landlord 
class  made  bankrupt  by  it ;  the  mercantile  classes,  whose 


APPENDIX. 


228 


ents  of 
tho 


's; 


lo  from 
its  aria- 
he  pro- 
statue 
of  the 
breath- 
i  justly 
le  form 
y  force 
kill  and 
•ight  to 
i  born, 
and  all. 
sion  of 
33  than 
hands." 
natural 
>  of  the 
(uld  be 
g  been 
il  right 
iced  in 
uals — 
for  the 
uals  in 
The 
mdlord 
,  whose 


stay  is  the  farmer's  prosperity,  have  been  made  insolvent 
by  it ;  the  laboring  population  by  it  stalk  and  stagger 
over  the  land,  gaunt  spectres  of  misery ;  public  credit, 
and  nearly  all  confidence,  have,  been  destroyed  by  it 
The  ruin  here  occasioned  by  it  is  now,  by  the  just  retri- 
bution of  God,  re-acting  on  a  neighboring  kingdom  that 
cradled  the  monster  in  its  infancy,  and  nursed  it  into 
vigor;  and  unhappy  Ireland  in  the  lowest  depths  of  the 
abyss,  can  only  extend  her  arms  to  heaven  for  help.  It 
is  an  absurdity,  I  should  say  a  blasphemy,  to  impute  this 
wreck  of  realms  to  the  rot  of  the  potato.  Many  causes,  I 
admit,  led  to  it ;  but,  principally,  the  insecurity,  or  rather 
almost  utter  rejection  of  the  tenant's  rights,  and  the  grind- 
ing exactions  of  the  landlord  class  generally.  All  was 
seized  on  by  them,  the  potato  excepted.  God  struck  this 
root — the  pretext  of  extortion,  and  the  unholy  system  in 
its  ultimate  terrible  effects  became  known  to  the  worid. 
The  world  knowing  it,  universally  condemns  it.  "Were 
it  not  for  his  divine  interposition  it  would  have  continued 
for  ages,  accumulating  its  iniquity,  unnoticed  and  \mar 
mended.  The  potato  rotted  in  France,  in  Belgium,  in 
Germany,  in  England,  and  in  Scotland,  and  the  failure 
of  it  was  scarcely  felt.  It  rots  in  Ireland,  and  the  crash 
of  ruhi  echoes  to  the  extremities  of  the  earth.  Whence 
this  difference  ?  I  say  its  cause  is  to  be  found  especially 
in  the  unhallowed  treatment  the  occupiers  of  the  soil  in 
Ireland  received.  Take,  Sir,  for  example,  the  following 
illustrations.  I  omit  the  names  of  the  townlands  and  of 
their  la*  Jlords,  as  it  would  be  invidious  to  mention  them. 
Besides,  they  are  not  worse — ^nay,  some  of  them  are 
better — ^than  many  of  their  class.    I  have  before  me  the 


224 


APPENDIX. 


Btatistica  of  twenty  townlands,  with  the  corresponding 
progrtissive  rise  of  rents  in  each,  from  1800  to  1843,  and 
also  the  relative  market  prices  of  the  productions  of 
agriculture  during  the  same  period : 


No.  3 
No.  3 
No.  4 
No.  ft 


No.  6 
No.  7 


No.  8 


No.  9 


Bent  In  1808,  £24  Irish. 

«       1811,  £53  Irish,  now  £61  British. 
Rent  In  1800,  £8  4a.  Irish,  now  £60  British. 
Rent  In  1804,  £15  Irish,  now  £31  British, 
Rent  In  1802,  £10  Irish,  now  £25  10s.  British     . 
Rent  in  1801,  £40  Irish. 

"       1811,  raised  to  £80  Irish,  now  £26  British. 

"       1812  and  1814  "  "  " 

Rent  in  1801,  £53  Ss.  9d.  Irish,  now  £98  British. 
Rent  in  1801,  £35  Irish. 

**       1811,  TvAeefl  to.£58  Irish,  now  £70  British. 

"       1812  and  1814  "  "  " 

Rent  In  1801,  £80  Irish. 

«       181 1,  raised  to  £150  Irish,  now  £162  British. 

"       1812  and  1814  "  "  « 

Rent  In  1801,  £1  Irish. 

«       1811,  raised  to  £117  Irish,  now  £134  British. 

«        1812  and  1814  "  «  " 


As  you  know  the  corresponding  market  prices  of  the 
periods  alluded  to,  I  will  not  detain  you  with  their  de- 
tails. From  this  illustration  we  could  reasouubly  con- 
clude what  the  result  of  such  a  system  would  necessarily 
be,  even  had  we  not  the  actual  misery  of  our  country  be- 
fore our  eyes,  produced  by  it.  "With  regard  to  the  ex- 
amples which  1  have  given,  one  of  two  things  must  be 
certain,  viz.,  that  the  tenant  classes  on  the  aforesaid  town- 
lands,  must  have  been  either  taxed  for  their  industry,  or 
wantonly  oppressed  by  the  proprietors.  As  these  are 
not  isolated  cases,  but  merely  parts  selected  from  the 
whole,  for  the  purposes  of  undivided  meditation  or  illus- 
tration, I  say  it  is  the  duty  of  all  classes,  and  of  all  creeds, 
to  unite  and  put  an  end  at  once  to  such  an  iniquity  Our 
rulers  have  tried  their  hands  to  make  land  dear,  and  flesh 


APFSNDIX. 


225 


and  blood  cheap.  It  is  full  time  for  them  to  retrace  their 
steps  so  ruinous  to  society,  and  secure  as  far  as  possible, 
to  the  Irish  farmer,  his  natural  rights,  by  wise  and  vigor- 
ous legislation.  Let  them,  of  course,  hold  the  rights  of 
property  sacred ;  but,  above  all  things,  let  them  not  for- 
get the  rights  of  man,  which  the  law  of  God,  "  whose  is 
the  earth  and  the  fulness  thereof,"  makes  the  rights  of 
man  still  more  sacred.  They  foolishly  lost  sight  of  the 
law  of  nature.  By  nearing  themselves  to  it,  and  keep- 
ing it  full  in  view,  all  things  may  be  put  to  right  again. 
"Whatever  the  duty  of  the  government  may  be.  Sir,  the 
•  duty  of  all  sects  and  creeds  in  Ireland  is  clear — ^yea,  pal- 
pable, to  unite  and  say  that  this  system  must  have  an 
end.  Protestants,  Presbyterians,  and  Catholics,  all  have 
hero  a  neutral  ground  to  stand  and  work  upon — a  com- 
mon cause  to  work  for — a  common  interest  to  promote — 
a  common  enemy  to  oppose.  From  this  duty  there 
should  be  no  shrinking.  The  present  is  the  moment  to 
forge  the  bolt,  and  st^'lco  with  unerring  aim  the  monster 
injustice.  The  leagues  are  the  smithies  in  which  the 
thunders  of  public  opinion  must  be  forged.  In  this  holy 
work  all  must  co-operate  with  earnestness,  energy,  single- 
mindedness,  and  perseverance. 

''  Brontesque.  Steropesqne  et  nudas  membra  Pyraomon." 

Let  the  Episcopalian  bring  to  it  his  "  three  rays  of 

hailstorm" — the    Presbyterian    his    "three    of  watery 

clouds" — the  Catholic  his  "  three  of  sparkling  flame"— 

the  Methodist  his  "  winged  south  win^s,"  and  the  stern 

sturdy  Covenanter,  his 

"  Falgores  tenificos,  sonitumqne,  metumque, 
Miscere  operi  et  flammis  Bequocibua  iras." 


226 


APPENDIX. 


It  ig,  however,  the  system,  and  not  men,  with  which 
we  have  to  deal.  They  afq  merely  its  creatures,  born, 
bred,  and  educated  under  it,  and  the  best  that  ever  lived, 
nursed  as  they  were,  and  petted,  would  not,  without  pe- 
culiar graces,  have  escaped  its  poisonous  infection. 
Adam  has  bequeathed  to  us  all  the  spirit  of  domination 
and  oppression,  and  if  not  checked  by  other  causes,  it 
naturally  and  inevitably  works  its  mischief.  In  all  dis- 
cussions on  this  subject,  differences  on  religion  and  poli- 
tics should  be  placed  in  abeyance.  The  league  must 
strongly  bar  their  gates  against  their  introduction.  Let 
the  terms  of  our  holy  confederation  be  such  that  the 
principles  we  conscientiously  entertain,  shall  be  of  ne- 
cessity held  inviolate.  On  these  terms  alone  we.  Catho- 
lics, join  you.  The  only  condition  of  our  allegiance  is 
simply  and  beautifully  expressed  in  the  following  lines : 

" cum  jam  leges  et  foedera  jungent, 

Ne  yetoB  indigeaas  nomen  mutare  Latinos, 
Nee  Troas  fieri  jabeaa  Tencroeque  vooari 
Aut  vocnm  mutare  viros  aut  yertere  vester." 

Wishing  you,  Sir,  and  all  joined  with  you  in  a  cause 
which  I  believe  to  be  that  of  truth,  of  justice,  of  patri- 
otism, and  of  God,  every  blessing  in  your  endeavors  to 
secure  the  prosperity  of  Ireland  not  less  than  your  own 
rights ;  and  again  expressing  my  sincere  regret  for  my 
unavoidable  absence  from  this  evening's  entertainment, 
I  remain  your  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

^Edward  Maginn. 

James  M'Kniglft,  Esq.,  Secretary,  &c. 


DR.  MAGINN'S  POLITICAL  COMESPONDENCE. 


my 


Dublin,  December  26,  1847. 

My  Beloved  Lord, — ^Pardon  my  intrusion,  to  which  I 
am  forced  by  my  anxiety  to  express  my  admiration  of 
your  beautiful  letters.  Thank  heaven,  the  Church  and 
the  faithful  Irish  people  have  such  a  champion!  You 
have  cheered  our  hearts  at  a  time  when  all  things  else 
tended  heavily  to  depress. 

I  am  glad  to  see  that,  at  any  rate,  a  portion  of  your 
admirable  letter  to  Lord  Stanley  has  been  permitted  to 
appear  in  the  London  press — ^the  Morning  Chronicle  in- 
serting portions  of  it  yesterday.  I  was  privately  informed 
in  London,  that  sly  and  crotchety  Sir  Robert  Ferguson 
was  the  cause  why  the  Government  Landlord  and  Tenant 
Bill  was  not  introduced  this  last  session.  Lord  Claren- 
don asked  his  opinion,  which,  of  course,  was  unfavorable. 
Now  what  a  pity  that  some  "bird  of  the  air"  does  not 
carry  this  matter  to  the  ears  of  the  Northmen  I 

I  am,  my  beloved  Lord,  with  the  deepest  respect, 
esteem  and  respectful  affection, 

Ever  most  devotedly  yours, 

John  O'Connkll. 

The  Lord  Bishop  of  Derry. 


London  (13  Belgrave  Square),  April  16,  1848. 

My  Lord, — I  beg  to  thank  you  sincerely  for  the  flat-' 
tering  manner  in  which  you  have  noticed  my  weak  ef- 


228 


APPENDIX. 


forts  to  draw  attention  to  the  claims  of  tLa  suffering  poor 
of  Ireland,  in  your  letter  of  the  5th,  which  I  have  had 
the  honor  of  receiving  to-day.  I  need  not  say  more 
than  express  my  deep  regret  that  my  power  to  demand 
redress  for  their  grievances  does  not  enable  me  to  make 
my  acts  correspond  with  my  wishes,  or  the  strong  and 
earnest  feelings  I  entertain,  and  have  for  years  enter- 
tained, on  the  subject.  Depend  on  it,  I  will  lose  no  op- 
portunity of  which  I  can  avail  myself,  to  press  forward 
the  subject.  Your  letter  will,  I  hope,  arm  me  with  some 
authority  in  doing  so,  and  I  will  anxiously  watch  the 
chances  of  making  a  move  in  the  matter. 

I  fear  the  measure  for  preventing  or  mitigating  the 
harshness  of  the  clearances  promised  by  Government,  will 
turn  out  of  no  value.  We  will  do  all  we  can  to  im- 
prove it,  and  make  it  more  effectual.  If  time  is  afforded 
for  pressing  effectual  measures  on  the  Government  and 
Parliament — ^before  matters  come  in  Ireland  to  a  crisis 
in  which  even  Parliament  may  be  powerless — ^I  do  still 
hope  the  session  will  not  be  fruitless  of  such  good  acts. 
The  measures  I  have  earnestly,  for  three  years  past, 
pressed  on  Government,  are : 

1.  Protection  and  security  to  the  tenant-farmer  from 
the  caprice  and  rapacity  of  his  landlord. 

2.  The  removal  of  all  restraints  on  the  sale,  leasing, 
and  free  disposal  of  land,  with  a  brief  and  cheap  par- 
liamentary title. 

3.  A  large  measure  of  public  employment  for  the 
able-bodied  poor,  chiefly  in  reclaiming  waste  lands,  to 
*be  subsequently  divided  into  moderate  sized  farms,  and 
sold  or  leased  in  perpetuity. 


APPENDIX. 


229 


the 
,  to 
,  and 


Measures  such  as  these,  vigorously  carried  out,  misht, 
I  hope,  prevent  the  convulsion  with  which  Ireland  seems 
menaced,  and  save  the  lives  of  the  thousands  who  in  the 
present  state  of  the  law,  are  now  threatened  with  inter- 
mination. 

Since  you  mention  the  Poor  Law  as  at  present,  worked 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  fail  even  in  prolonging  the  lives 
of  those  whom  it  takes  under  its  protection,  allow  me  to 
suggest  that  means  should  be  taken  by  the  friends  of 
the  poor,  (such  as  your  Lordship,  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  and  clergy,  who  have  so 
devotedly  fulfilled  the  duties  of  their  high  position,  as 
the  pati?  ftivisers,  and  protectors  of  the  poor)  to  en- 
force thoiL  ];  provisions  of  that  law  which  are  framed  for 
their  benefit.  Having  taken  an  active  part  in  recom- 
mending this  law  to  Parliament  and  the  government, 
and  when  it  was  introduced,  having  striven  (and  with, 
as  I  believed,  considerable  success)  to  obtain  its  passing 
in  such  a  shape  as  should  secure  a  right  to  relief  m  destitu- 
tion to  all  classes  of  poor,  I  am  strongly  persuaded  that 
the  law,  as  it  exists,  contains  enough  vigour  and  power 
to  secure  this  great  object,  if  duly  and  vigilantly  watched 
and  enforced  by  the  friends  of  the  poor  in  each  locality. 

The  local  authorities  are  required  and  commanded  by 
the  express  terms  of  the  act  duly  to  relieve  all  classes  of 
the  destitute ;  and  if  they  neglect  to  do  so  effectively, 
they  are  open  to  the  legal  penalties  of  this  demeanor^  for 
np^glecting  to  perform  a  duty  imposed  on  them  hy  law.  If 
through  any  si'ch  neglect,  death  unhappily  ensues,  they 
are  moreover  liable  to  indictment  for  manslaughter  or  cut- 
pahle  homicide,  I  believe.    This  is  certainly  the  case  in 


2ftO 


APPENDIX. 


England ;  and  our  law  is  not  more  literally  imperative 
in  its  injunctions  on  the  authorities  than  yours.  It  has 
also  recently  been  decided  by  the  courts  in  Scotland^ 
that  a  Poor  Law  Inspector,  answering  to  your  relieving 
officer,  is  indiciahle  for  culpable  homicide^  if  he  neglect 
any  poor  person  requiring  relief  after  applicatioui  and 
death  ensue  as  a  consequence. 

I  wish  some  case  of  this  kind  were  brought  before  the 
courts  in  Ireland.  I  have  asked  the  question  publicly 
of  the  Irish  Secretary  here,  and  it  has  not  been  denied 
that  such  is  the  law.  In  the  first  case  you  relate  to  me^ 
for  example,  that  of  a  poor  woman  of  70,  recorded  by 
the  verdict  of  an  inquest  as  having  died  of  starvation, 
having  received  insufficient  out-door  relief  (only  ninepence 
a  week  to  find  lodging  &c.,  as  well  as  food),  the  relieving 
officer  seems  to  me  open  to  an  indictment.  If  he  acted 
by  the  command  of  the  Board  of  Guardians,  then  the 
Chairman  of  the  Board  who  gave  the  order  would,  I 
should  think,  be  the  party  liable.  Even  the  Poor  Law 
Commissioners  are  subject  to  this  legal  responsibility,  I 
imagine — and  the  Government  of  which  they  are  mem- 
bers, to  the  highest  amount  of  responsibility  in  Parlia- 
ment, at  least,  if  not  in  the  courts.  I  should  say,  how- 
ever, that  this  old  woman's  case  might  be  considered  a 
doubtful  one,  from  her  age  and  perhaps  other  infirmi- 
ties. I  am  told,  at  the  present  price  of  meal,  one  penny 
a  day  will  provide  food  only  even  for  an  able-bodied 
man,  so  that,  little  enough  as  ninepence  a  week  is  for 
the  maintenance  of  any  individual,  it  might  be  ques- 
tioned whether  it  was  not  barely  sufficient.  I  should 
strongly  recommend,  however,  that  such  cases  should 


APPJCNDIX. 


281 


be  wntched,  and  that,  when  an^-  clear  case  of  neglect 
or  insufficient  relief  (when  duly  demanded)  appear,  a 
prosecution  should  be  instituted,  and  the  question  tried 
in  court.  This  would  have  the  effect  of  stimulating  all 
officials  under  the  law  to  activity  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duties. 

I  fear  you  will  think  me  unimpressed  by  the  threat- 
ening circumstances  of  the  moment,  from  my  dwelling 
on  these  minute  matters.  I  fully  sympathize  with  your 
indigration  at  the  terrible  condition  in  which  the  law 
still  leaves  your  poorer  countrymen.  But  the  law  passed 
last  year  was  some  earnest  of  good  intentions  towards 
them  on  the  part  of  the  united  Legislature,  and  I  hope 
will  be  speedily  followed  by  others  more  effectual,  espe- 
cially such  as  I  pointed  out  in  the  beginning  of  this  hur- 
ried letter,  for  the  deficiencies  of  which  I  have  to  ask 
your  pardon,  and  that  you  will,  notwithstanding,  believe 
me  ever,  my  Lord, 

Yours,  very  respectfully  and  sincerely, 

G.  POULETT  SCROPB. 


House  of  Commons,  April  17, 1848. 
My  Lord, — ^I  am  further  obliged  by  your  last  letter. 
With  reference  to  the  opinion  you  mention  as  given  by 
Mr.  Henn,  that  the  Board  of  Guardians  are  not  compelled 
by  the  injunctions  of  the  Poor  Law  of  last  session  to 
afford  the  necessary  relief  to  the  out-door  poor,  I  can- 
not help  thinking  there  must  be  some  misunderstanding. 
Mr.  Henn,  I  am  aware,  was  consulted  as  to  the  quarter- 
acre  clause,  and  his  opinion  was  satisfactory  on  the  point 


232 


APPENDIX. 


that  a  legal  evacuatiot  iOf  the  holding  was  not  necessary 
to  entitle  a  pauper  to  relief,  so  that  he,  bona  fide,  intended 
to  give  it  up.  I  have  shown  your  statement  to  Sir  "W. 
Somerville,  who  will  make  inquiry  as  to  the  facts.  But 
this  I  feel  quite  certain  of,  that  the  act  imperatively  en- 
joins on  the  guardians  to  relieve  a?Z  cases  of  real  necessity, 
whether  infirm  or  able-bodied.  If  the  work-house  is 
full,  the  responsibility  of  ordering  the  out-door  relief  of 
the  able-bodied,  rests  with  the  Commissioners,  they  being 
informed  of  the  want  of  room,  &c.,  by  the  guardians  or 
some  third  party.  When  that  order  is  issued,  the  guar- 
dians, relieving  officer,  &o.,  are  as  much  responsible  for 
the  due  relief  of  the  able-bodied  as  of  the  infirm  poor. 
Of  course  they  always  must  exercise  a  discretion  in  every 
case,  as  to  whether  it  is,  or  is  not,  one  of  real  destitution. 
But  that  discretion  they  exercise  under  the  heavy  respon- 
sibility of  the  duty  imposed  on  them  to  relieve  all  who 
are  really  destitute,  and  the  liability,  as  I  stated  in  my 
first  letter  to  indictment  for  misdemeanor,  should  it  be 
clearly  shown  that  in  any  case  they  neglected  that  duty 
and  refused  relief  to  the  really  destitute. 

I  am  no  lawyer,  but  having  taken  part  in  the  wording 
of  the  clauses  with  the  view  to  securing  a  full  right  to 
every  class  of  the  destitute  poor  to  relief,  and  having 
been  satisfied  by  every  accessible  authority  at  the  time, 
that  this  great  object  was  effectually  attained,  I  am  very 
unwilling  to  believe  that  there  can  be  any  doubt  on  the 
matter ;  especially  as  the  wording  of  the  act  appears  to 
me  fully  as  stringent  and  compulsory  as  those  of  our 
English  laws,  under  which  overseers  have  been  indicted 
and  punished  as  misdemeanants  for  neglecting  to  reliev<} 


APPENDIX. 


m 


scesaary 
atended 
Sir  W. 
3.  But 
irely  en- 
lecessiiy^ 
louse  is 
elief  of 
y  being 
iians  or 


le  guar- 
dble  for 
n  poor, 
n  every 
bitution. 
respon- 
all  who 
in  my 
i  it  be 
at  duty 

ording 
ight  to 
having 
e  time, 
n  very 
on  the 
ears  to 
of  our 
idicted 
relievj 


the  poor,  and  also  of  the  Scotch  law  recently  enacted, 
under  which  the  courts  have  determined  that  an  indict- 
ment for  culpable  homicide  will  lie  against  a  Poor-law 
officer  for  refusing  relief,  and  thereby  giving  occasion  to 
the  death  of  the  part^' 

I  can  have  no  objection  1  your  circulating  luj  letter 
in  print,  if  you  think  it  worth  while.  But  I  fear  it  was 
hastily  and  carelessly  written,  and  must  trust  to  your 
correction  any  inaccuracies  of  expression.  The  pro- 
posal to  appropriate  the  waste  lands  of  Ireland  to  the 
productive  employment  of  the  able-bodied  poor,  was 
made  by  me  in  June,  1846,  in  the  shape  of  a  bill  which 
I  got  leave  to  introduce.  I  had  reason  to  hope  that  the 
present  government  would  take  up  the  measure  them- 
selves ;  but  .their  hearts  failed  them.  Had  it  been  at 
that  time  adopted,  I  believe  much  money  and  lives  would 
have  been  saved  last  year,  and  many  thousand  happy 
farmers  might  have  been  located  on  the  reclaimed  lands 
already  actively  cultivating  their  own  land.  I  believe 
some  200,000  might  have  been  thus  provided  for.  I  am 
still  pushing  this  measure  on  the  government,  but  as  yet 
they  hold  back.  Lord  John  Russell  promised  to  under- 
take it  last  year,  but  was  induced  to  drop  it  by  represen- 
tations from  the  landlords,  I  believe,  who  do  not  like  to 
part  with  an  acre.  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  sending 
you  a  couple  of  pamphlets,  recently  printed  by  me  on 
this  subject. 

I  remain,  my  Lord,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

G.  POULETT  SCROPE. 

P.  S.    I   cannot  account  for  my  first  letter  being 
opened,  but  imagine  it  must  have  been  accidental. 
Yery  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn,  Lord  Bishop  of  Derry,  &o. 


284 


APPENDIX. 


London,  (13  Belgrave  Square^)  May  8, 1848. 

My  Lord, — I  send  you  the  correspondence  .given  to 
me  by  Sir  William  Soraerville,  who  on  hearing  from  me 
the  case  of  the  poor  woman  in  question,  as  related  to  me 
by  your  Lordship,  thought  it  right  to  institute  an  inquiry, 
as  I  believe  is  uniformly  done  where  a  verdict  of  death 
from  want  of  nourishment,  or  something  to  that  effect, 
is  recorded  by  a  coroner's  jury,  and  reported  to  the  Board 
of  Commissioners,  or  P.  L.  Inspector.  I  think  the  state- 
ment, on  the  whole,  satisfactory,  and  leading  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  if  this  is  one  of  the  worst  cases  that  have  oc- 
curred in  your  Lordship's  neighborhood,  there  is  no 
great  reason  to  complain  of  the  officials  neglecting  the 
poor  under  their  charge.  The  only  awkward  part  of 
the  story  to  me,  is  the  admission  of  the  relieving  officer 
that  9d.  per  week  was  his  usual  pay  to  adults ;  by  which 
I  understand  those  really  destitute,  who  had  no  power, 
or  friends  capable  of  assisting  them,  nor  even  perhaps 
house-room.  Should  this  be  the  case,  there  must  be 
great  suffering  endured  by  them. 

Pray  believe  that  I  shall  feel  honored  by  any  commu- 
nications on  the  subject  of  the  state  of  the  poor  that 
you  make  to  me,  and  will  do  my  best  to  turn  them  to 
good  account. 

I  beg  to  remain,  my  Lord, 

Your  very  obedient  servant, 

G.  POULETT  SOROPE. 

Eight  Eeverned  Dr.  Maginn,  Lord  Bishop  of  Derry. 


APPENDIX. 


285 


1848. 
iven  to 
rom  me 
4  to  me 
inquiry, 
)f  death 
t  effect, 
e  Board 
he  statc- 
the  con- 
have  oc- 
e  is  no 
king  the 
part  of 
g  officer 
ly  which 
power, 
perhaps 
nust  be 

3ommu- 
>or  that 
hem  to 


lOPE. 

)erry. 


I  / 
BENEYOLENOB  OF  THE  BRITISH  PEOPLE  DURING  THE 

IBISU  FAMINE. 

BuNCRANA,  June  19,  1848. 
Gentlemen, — ^I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
favor  of  the  13th  inst,  and  to  state  for  your  satisfaction, 
that  the  daty  you  would  impose  upon  us  we  have  an- 
ticipated,  and,  I  fondly  hope,  faithfully  discharged.  Six 
months  ago  we  and  clergy,  in  conference  assembled,  con- 
veyed by  an  anonymous  resolution  through  the  public 
papers,  the  warmest  expression  of  our  gratitude  to  all 
our  benefactors,  who  practically  sympathized  with  our 
people  in  their  unparalleled  destitution.  We  did  noi* 
of  course  forget  the  benevolent,  beneficent  and  humane 
among  the  English  people,  though  we  had  reason  to 
know  that  the  greater  part  of  their  contributions  was 
unblushin^Iy  misapplied  to  any  and  every  purpose  but 
the  alleviation  of  the  misery  of  our  suffering  poor.  To 
the  government  we  did  not  express  our  gratitude  for 
the  vote  of  money  which  they  had  made  out  of  the 
common  treasury  towards  our  relief,  and  which  was 
principally  squandered,  in  the  way  of  patronage,  on 
heartless  officials  who  had  no  sympathy  for  or  with  our 
starving  people.  I  do  believe  that  many  members  of 
the  Whig  government  intended  well,  as  I  know  there 
are  among  them  some  excellent  men,  such  as  Lord  Mor- 
peth, and  others  whom  I  need  not  name.  They,  how- 
ever, confided  the  carrying  out  of  their  good  intentions 
to  faithless  hands,  who  abused  the  trust  reposed  in  them, 
and  did  anything  but  save  our  people  from  destruction. 
Our  then  skeleton  peasantry  were  forced,  in  their  rags, 


286 


APPENDIX 


amidst  the  frosts  and  snows  of  winter,  to  work,  and 
starve,  and  die,  not  being  able  to  earn  more  than  5d.  per 
day,  while  thousands  of  pounds  were  lavished  upon  en- 
gineers, inspectors,  check  clerks,  &c.  The  result  of  this 
mode  of  proceeding  in  the  cure  from  which  I  am  writ- 
ing to  you  was,  that  out  of  a  population  of  ten  thousand 
Catholics,  eighteen  hundred  at  least  perished  through 
cold  and  hunger,  or  pestilence,  their  natural  conse* 
quenoe.  For  this  state  of  things  I  don't  think  we  have 
had  any  reason  to  thank  the  government,  especially  as 
we  ure  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  it  wad  their 
duty  to  have  taken  good  care,  at  every  risk  and  every 
■  expense  to  the  commonwealth,  to  save  the  lives  of  Her 
Majesty's  subjects,  at  least  such  was  the  opinion  of  an 
exceedingly  wise  man  among  the  ancients — Aristotle. 
He  was  a  Pagan,  and  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  intro- 
duce him  as  a  teacher  of  humanity,  and  its  duties  to 
Christian  rulers.  "Quam  multsQ  autem  sint  res  sine 
quibus,  civitas,  esse  nequeat  videndum  est.  Primum 
igitur  victus  seu  alimentum  suppetere  debet:  deinde 
artes;  tertio  loco  arma;  deinde  aliqua  pecuniae  vis  et 
copia." — De  Bepuhlica^  Lib,  vii.,  Cap.  8.  I  have  no  hes- 
itation ill  admitting  that  the  benevolence  of  many  in 
England  had  a  most  salutary  effect,  in  obliterating  from 
the  minds  of  our  people  the  wrongs  of  centuries,  and 
making  them  forget  and  forgive  the  past ;  but  it  would 
be  uncandid  in  me  to  conceal  from  you,  that  the  conduct 
of  the  organs  of  the  British  public,  the  odious  calumnies 
they  heaped  upon  the  people  and  their  clergy,  the  want 
of  sympathy  with  our  people  generally  during  the  pre- 
sent year,  in  which  their  distress  has  been,  in  most  places, 


APPENDIX. 


287 


•k,  and 

5d.  per 

pon  en- 

of  this 

m  writ- 

lousand 

hrough 

conse- 

^e  have 

dally  as 

ad  their 

I  every 

of  Her 

n  of  an 

ristotle. 

>  intro- 

\ities  to 

s  sine 

rimum 

deinde 

via  et 

no  hes* 

aany  in 

g  from 

es,  and 

would 

onduct 

umnies 

e  want 

le  pre- 

places, 


more  keenly  felt  than  daring  the  worst  periods  of  '47^- 
the  practical  sympathy  manifested  by  other  countries 
with  our  people,  even  during  this  season,  by  Italy, 
France  and  America,  from  which  countries  I  myself  re- 
ceived large  sums  of  money,  with  which  I  saved  the 
lives  of  thousands  of  the  starving  poor  in  this  diocese, 
while  the  Government  and  Englaad  showed  nothing  but 
cold  indifference  to  our  wants ;  yea  more,  insulted  and 
mocked  at  our  mifcry,  giving  full  swing — I  should  say, 
encouragement — to  the  ruthless  exterminator  to  level  the 
cabins  of  our  peasantry,  and  cast  them  out  in  thousands 
to  die  in  ditches ;  all  this,  with  many  other  things  which 
it  is  useless  for  me  now  to  mention,  have  much  tended 
to  remove  the  aforesaid  good  impressions,  and  spread 
disaffection  everywhere  abroad  among  us.  Let  but  the 
people  and  government  of  England  secure  the  rights  of 
possession  and  of  industry  to  our  farmers,  employment 
to  our  laboring  classes ;  let  them  remove  from  among 
us  these  established  anomalies  which  shock  the  common 
sense  of  Christendom,  these  nurseries  of  interested  big- 
otry and  consequent  detestation  of  the  masses  of  the 
Irish  people,  and  make  Ireland  what  she  should  be, 
prosperous  and  happy ;  or  rather,  since  they  have  failed 
in  producing  by  their  legislation  this  state  of  things, 
which  it  is  the  duty  of  all  rulers  to  produce,  though 
they  had  tried  their  hands  at  it  for  the  last  forty-eight 
years,  and  made  things  still  worse,  let  them  allow  us  to 
legislate  for  ourselves,  and  become,  as  we  should  be,  re- 
sponsible for  our  own  prosperity  or  misery,  and  Her 
Majesty  Queen  Victoria  will  not  iiave,  under  the  wide 
sway  of  her  sceptre,  more  devoted  subjects,  nor  the 


" -'^'fc'^AMWI*^''' 


288 


APPKKDIX. 


English  people  more  faithful  friends  and  allies  than  the 
Irish  people.        I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  most  faithful,  humble  servant, 

*{«  Edwabd  Maoinn. 

To  James  Hawkins,  Theo.  Jones,  John  Gilmore,  Esqrs. 


13  Windsor  Tower,  Kingstowi^  July  80, 1848. 
My  Lordy — I  read,  the  other  day,  a  letter  or  address 
of  yours  in  the  Freeman^s  Journal,  in  which  you  made 
a  most  temperate  statement,  relative  to  the  Established 
Church  of  Ireland.  This  day  I  have  read  with  surprise, 
the  speech  of  Mr.  Anstey,  the  Roman  Catholic  member 
for  Youghell,  on  Mr.  Sharman  Crawford's  motion  the 
other  night,  in  which  ho  says,  "He  (Mr.  Anstey)  must 
say,  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Ireland  did  not  consider  the  Established  Church  as  the 
chief  grievance  of  that  country,  nor  indeed  any  grievance 
at  all  /"  Now,  my  Lord,  does  not  this  put  the  liberal, 
the  sincere  Protestants,  who  agree  with  you  on  this  sub- 
ject, in  a  very  awkward  position,  to  have  this  Roman 
Catholic  member's  speech  to  be  thrown  in  our  faces  and 
quoted  as  the  sentiments  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ire- 
land? I  venture  to  call  your  attention  to  it,  and  hope 
yoif  will  excuse  my  troubling  you,  and  to  subscribe 
myself.  Your  faithful  servant, 

"William  Fitzgerald. 

P.  S. — This  is  private,  but  I  think  ought  to  be  looked 
to.  May  I  hope  an  answer  ?  If  so,  address  Lord  Wil- 
liam Fitzgerald,  as  above. 


APPENDIX. 


289 


in 


tbe 


INN. 

Ssqrs. 


.848. 
address 
1  made 
iblislied 
urprise, 
[nember 
ion  the 
y)  must 
olics  of 
h  as  the 
grievance 
liberal, 
bis  sub- 
Koman 
ices  and 
J  of  Ire- 
id  hope 
ibscribe 

lALD. 

looked 
Ird  Wil- 


MuLORAVU  Castle,  November  25, 1848. 

Sir  J — I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  20th  instant, 
with  an  accompanying  address  to  the  Queen  from  a 
meeting  of  the  barony  of  Innishowen,  held  on  the  7th 
of  August,  and  which  you  state  would  have  been  sooner 
transmitted  to  mo  for  presentation  but  for  my  absence 
abroad.  I  receive  this  request,  as  you  say.it  was  i:  tended 
as  an  additional  proof  of  the  continued  confidence  and 
favorable  recollection  of  the  Irish  People.  For  all  which 
I  assure  you  I  feel  ever  grateful. 

The  meeting  appears  to  have  been  most  numerously 
attended,  and  solely  by  persons  connected  with  that  part 
of  the  country.  Believing  many  of  the  complaints,  both 
general  and  local,  to  be  well-founded,  and  making  con- 
sequent allowance  for,  whilst  regretting,  some  of  the 
expressions  used,  I  should  have  forwarded  the  address 
at  once,  through  the  constitutional  channel,  for  presenta- 
tion to  Her  Majesty,  but  for  one  difficulty  connected,  not 
with  the  nature  of  the  remedy  proposed,  but  with  the 
Prayer  itself,  which  seems  to  me  to  be,  that  the  Queen, 
by  an  exercise  of  the  prerogative,  should  declare  the 
Union  void.  This  is  advice  which  I  feel  that  d«-»  u'inister, 
even  if  favorable  to  the  Eepeal  of  the  Union,  could  give 
to  a  constitutional  sovereign. 

This  alone  is  the  difficulty  I  feel  in  forwarding  the 
address,  unless  you  could  explain  away  this  impression. 
If  the  petitioners  had  only  generously  bespoken  the  sov- 
ereign's favorable  consideration  to  the  question  of  Bepeal, 
however  widely  I  might  differ  from  them  in  that  wish,  I 
should  not  have  hesitated  to  have  been  the  medium  of 
conveying  the  grievances  of  the  people  to  the  foot  of  the 
throne. 


240 


APPENDIX. 


I  should  have  contented  myself  with  repeating  what  I 
stated  on  an  appropriate  occasion  during  my  government 
of  Ireland,  that  to  a  meeting  as  numerous  as  that  lately 
held  at  Buncrana,  that  "  my  decided  opposition  to  a  re- 
peal of  the  Union  was  founded  upon,  and  in  exact  pro- 
portion to,  my  love  for  Ireland;"  and  I  shall  have  been 
as  well  assured  now  as  I  was  then,  that  my  sincerity 
would  not  have  been  doubted  by  those  who  differ  from 
me,  my  conviction  being  that  it  would  not  realize  any 
of  the  results  you  propose.  But  I  added,  at  the  same 
time,  that  "  the  only  assurance  of  a  true  union,  must  be 
perfect  equahty  on  all  subjects  of  legislation."  These 
opinions  I  still  maintain,  and  to  this  latter  state  I  am 
sure  we  must  come.  "With  this  view,  I  hold  it  to  be  the 
first  duty  of  every  Englishman  who  takes  part  in  public 
affairs,  even  from  the  private  station  I  now  occupy,  to 
lose  no  opportunity  of  pressing  upon  his  countrymen  the 
removal  of  all  invidious  distinctions  still  existing,  which 
it  is  the  height  of  injustice  to  refuse  and  would  be  no 
sacrifice  to  concede,  and  that,  by  doing  substantial  and 
speedy  justice  to  Ireland,  they  r lone  can  maintain  the 
security  of  united  institutions,  and  thereby  preserve  the 
peace  aijd  prosperity  of  this  great  empire,  happily  com- 
mitted to  the  charge  of  our  present  gracious  sovereign. 

Accept  my  best  thanks  for  your  personal  expressions 
towards  myself.        I  am,  Sir,  your  faithful  servant, 

NOBMANBY. 

Eev.  Edw.  rd  Maginn. 


MuLGBAvE  Castle,  Decmtber  12. 
Sir^ — ^I  have  this  day  received  your  letter  of  the  8th 


/^ 


APPENDIX. 


241 


» 'wbat  I 
ernment 
at  lately 
L  to  a  re- 
xact  pro- 
ave  been 
sincerity 
[ffer  from 
alize  any 
the  same 

must  be 
"  These 
ate  I  am 
to  be  the 
in  public 
)ccupy,  to 
ymen  the 

g,  which 

d  be  no 
,ntial  and 
mtain  the 
:serve  the 
>pily  com- 

ereign. 

ipressions 
ant, 
ANBY. 


12. 

If  the  8th 


containing  a  farther  explanation  of  the  Innishowen  ad- 
dress. I  could  not  take  upon  myself  to  make  any  alter- 
ation in  an  address  sent  to  me  for  presentation ;  but  as 
as  you  have,  you  say,  the  authority  of  the  committee  to 
whom  was  intrusted  the  charge  of  drawing  it  up,  if  you 
will  make  the  substitution  of  the  words  you  propose,  as 
more  accurately  conveying  the  legitimate  meaning,  and 
freeing  it  from  all  appearance  of  the  objection  I  had 
stated,  I  will  then,  upon  its  return  to  me,  forward  it  for 
presentation,  as  (though  I  shall  still  depeqd  from  the 
prayer,)  I  shall  feel  that  it  is  one  perfectly  competent  for 
the  petitioners  to  address  to  the  throne. 

Thanking  you  again  for  your  kind  expressions  to- 
wards myself,  I  am,  sir. 

Yours  faithfully, 

NORMANBY. 


York,  December  18,  1847. 
My  Dear  Lord^ — At  any  time,  and  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, the  Bishops  of  Ireland,  England  and  Scot- 
land, would  have  very  good  reason  to  look  with  serious 
apprehension  at  a  representative  from  the  Protestant 
Government  of  this  country,  being  invited  and  going  to 
transact  business  with  the  Holy  See.  We  are,  however, 
not  in  ordinary,  but  in  very  peculiar,  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances at  this  present  time.  We  have,  then,  much 
greater  reason  to  be  filled  with  apprehension  and^  indeed, 
with  alarm,  at  this  step  being  taken  at  the  present  trying 
and  critical  conjuncture.  Hence  it  has  occurred  to  me, 
that  we,  the  Bishops  of  this  kingdom,  as  faithful  watch- 
11 


242 


APPENDIX. 


"1 

IS  11 

i! 


men,  ought  not  to  delay  to  raise  our  warning  voice,  and, 
by  a  general  and  most  respectful  memorial,  put  at  once 
His  Holiness  in  possession  both  of  the  alarming  fears  that 
fill  our  minds  at  present,  and  of  some  of  the  grounds  of 
our  serious  alarms. 

Hence  I  have  thought  it  well  to  send  your  Lordship 
(soliciting  your  opinion  thereon)  the  heads  of  our  pro- 
posed memorial  to  His  Holiness,  setting  forth  our  fears, 
and  some  of  the  grounds  of  those  fears.  And,  of  your 
Lordship,  as  an  Irish  Bishop,  may  I  be  permitted,  en 
passantj  to  ask  whether  it  be  not  morally  certain  that 
Lord  Minto  will  notify  to  His  Holiness,  the  general,  but 
unjust  cry  of  condemnation  now  daily  echoed  through 
both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  throughout  this  kingdom, 
against  the  Catholic  priesthood  of  Ireland  ?  whether  it 
is  not  probable  that  His  Holiness  may  be  induced  to  give 
some  credit  to  these  misrepresentations ;  and  also  whether 
it  be  not  possible  for  His  Holiness,  thus  deceived,  to  send 
some  document  condemnatory  of  the  conduct  of  the  Irish 
Priests,  or  act  upon  that  false  information  in  some  other 
way.  Should  His  Holiness,  thus  deceived,  be  induced  to 
send  to  Ireland  such  a  document,  your  Lordship  well 
knows  how  destructive  it  must  be  both  to  the  Papal 
authority  in  Ireland,  and  also  destructive  to  the  authority 
of  the  Catholic  Bishops  and  Priests  in  Ireland,  and  how 
ruinous  in  Ireland  to  our  Holy  Keligion.  1  have  the 
honor,  my  dear  Lord,  to  be  with  the  most  profound  re- 
spect, and  the  kindest  regards,  your  Lordship's  humble 
and  devoted  servant,  ^  John  Briggs. 

Most  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn. 

P.  S.  Please  to  give  me  your  candid  opinion  by  return 


APPENDIX. 


243 


e,  and, 
it  once 
TS  that 
ndsof 

>rclsliip 
ir  pro- 
r  fears, 
)f  your 
ted,  en 
in  that 
ral,  but 
;hrough 
ngdom, 
3ther  it 
to  give 
/v^hether 
to  send 
e  Irish 
:e  other 
uced  to 
ip  well 
Papal 
.thority 
d  how 
,ve  the 
and  re- 
umble 

GGS. 

return 


of  post  as  to  the  sending  of  this  proposed  memorial,  (the 
mere  outline  of  which  I  have  drawn),  and  also  as  to  its 
contents,  freely  retrenching  or  adding  to  them  whatever 
your  Lordship  may  deem  desirable.  J.  B. 

TUE   HEADS   OF   THE    PROPOSED    MEMORIAL   TO  HIS  HOLINESS. 

JFrom  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  Ireland  and  from  the 
Bishops  of  England  and  Scotland  : 

After  a  very  humble  and  an  apologizing  introduction, 
we  might  say, 

1.  That  Lord  Minfco  is  now  in  Rome,  sent  by  the 
British  Government  to  treat  on  ecclesiastical  affairs  with 
the  Holy  See.  Vide  Lord  Landsdowne's  speech  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  16th  instant. 

2.  That  the  diplomacy  of  British  ministers  is  well  known 
throughout  the  world,  to  be  extremely  cimning  and  subtle, 
and  by  these  means  they  have,  almost  everywhere,  gained 
their  ends. 

3.  That  British  diplomacy  has  been  everywhere  in- 
imical to  our  Holy  Religion. 

4.  That  the  British  government  has  been,  by  every 
means,  endeavoring  for  many  years  past  to  obtain  a  con- 
cordat with  the  Holy  See,  which  was  happily  averted 
by  Bishops,  either  of  Ireland  or  England,  being  on  the 
alert,  and  pointing  out  to  the  Holy  See  the  deceptions  prac- 
ticed, and  the  sad  consequences  that  would  result. 

5.  That  as  they  are  now  at  the  same  work  again,  we  deem 
it  our  duty  most  respectfully  to  state  that  we  feel  exceed- 
ingly alarmed  lest  the  Holy  See  be  again  deceived  by  our 
civil  government,  the  members  of  which  government  ob  • 


244 


APPENDIX. 


serve  the  most  marked  secrecy  at  home,  as  to  what  pro- 
ceedings are  going  on  at  Rome  relative  to  our  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  though  one  of  the  leading  ministers  has  just  now 
avowed  that  they  have  received  from  Home  most  useful 
information. 

6.  That  besides  the  marked  secrecy  just  nientioned, 
what  fills  us  with  alarm  is  to  see  the  conflicting  conduct 
of  Lord  Minto  at  Rome,  and  the  conduct  in  England  of 
his  son-in-law,  the  present  prime  minister  of  England. 
Lord  Minto  is  doing  all  that  his  station  and  money  can 
effect,  to  obtain,  not  only  the  good  will  of  His  Holiness 
and  of  those  in  authority  in  Rome,  but  even  of  the  popu- 
lace of  Rome,  a^id  also  to  obtain  great  ascendency  there. 
Whilst  at  home  Lord  John  Russell  is  not  only  publicly 
declaring  his  hostility  to  the  Catholic  religion, '  as  he 
avowed  the  other  day,  in  his  public  printed  answers  re- 
specting the  appointment  of  Dr.  Hampden  to  a  Protest- 
ant Bishopric,  but  that  he  and  his  fellow  ministers  are 
continuing  to  persecute  the  Regulars,  Clergy  and  Laity, 
both  in  Ireland  and  England,  acting  still  up  to  what  he 
(Lord  Russell)  lately  said  in  one  of  his  works,  that  he 
considered  the  Regulars  no  better  than  "  sharpers." 

Such  also  is  the  present  conduct  of  the  ministers  acting 
under  Lord  John 'Russell.  "When  we  look  at  the  conduct 
of  our  civil  government  at  home,  totally  opposed  to  the 
conduct  of  its  representative  at  Rome,  have  we  not  every 
reason  to  be  filled  with  the  most  serious  suspicion  and 
alarm  ? 

7.  Another  cause  of  our  serious  alarm  is  the  very  long 
continued  hostile  conduct  of  our  Protestant  government 
towards  the  Catholic  religion  in  this  kingdom.  When  a 
bloody  persecution  for  nearly  three  hundred  years  could 


APPENDIX. 


245 


lat  pro- 
dastical 
ist  now 
;  useful 

ationed, 
conduct 
;land  of 
England. 
)ney  can 
Holiness 
be  popu- 
cy  there, 
publicly  . 
n,*as  lie 
iswers  re- 

Protest- 
isters  are 
td  Laity, 

what  he 
L  that  he 
Irs." 

jrs  acting 
conduct 
led  to  the 

^lot  every 

icion  and 

rery  long 

rernment 

When  a 

jars  could 


not  extinguish  our  religion  here,  and  the  penal  laws  be- 
gan to*  be  partially  repealed ;  from  that  period  to  the  pre- 
sent time,  and  at  the  present  time  it  is  perfectly  notorious 
to  all  in  Britain,  that  the  Britijh  government  does  leave 
nothing  unattempted  to  undermine  our  holy  Church. 
We  should  feel  happy  to  specify  what  these  various  at- 
tempts to  undermine  our  holy  religion  have  been  and 
now  are,  should  your  Holiness  call  for  this  information 
from  us.  At  present  we  beg  leave  merely  to  point  at  the 
outrageous  calumny  now  vociferated  by  the  present  gov- 
ernment, and  the  members  of  Parliament  against  the  Irish 
priests,  falsqjy  charging  them  with  being  the  abettors  of 
the  horrible  crime  of  murder. 

And  further,  my  Lords,  I  believe  that  there  is  no  court 
in  Europe  in  which  it  would  be  more  useful  for  the  British 
government  to  explain  the  nature  of  our  transactions ;  or 
to  induce  that  court  to  use  its  peculiar  sources  of  influence  in 
certain  parts  of  Her  Majesty's  dominions. — London  Morning 
Post,  Dec.  15,  1847.     Vide  Tablet,  Dec.  18,  1847. 


THOMAS  STEELE,  ESQ.,  TO  DR.  MAGINN. 

Nenagh,  County  Tipperary^  December  24, 1.847.* 
My  Dear  and  Venerated  Lord  : 

I  have  read  your  almost  miraculous  letter  to  Scorpion 
Stanley,  with  admiration  and  with  astonishment. 

*  Mr.  Steele  writes,  as  will  be  inferred  in  relation  to  Dr.  Maginn's 
"  Letters  to  Lord  Stanley,"  in  justification  of  the  Confessional,  as  an 
institution  preventive  of  agragrian  crime  among  the  peasantry  of 
Ireland.  His  style  is  his  own  ;  his  veracity  as  to  matters  of  fact  was 
aever  questioned. 


246 


APPENDIX. 


That  letter  is  *^  a  voice  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  as 
the  voice  of  a  multitude,  as  the  voice  of  God !" 

I  most  reverentially  pray  your  Lordship's  permission  to 
send  you  a  late  number  of  the  Tipperary  Vindicator y  and 
after  you  shall  have  read  the  passages  I  have  marked, 
I  trust  your  Lordship  will  deem  that  I  only  perform  a  com- 
mon-place social  duty :  that  of  not  by  uilfid  silence  bearing 
false  witness  against  my  neighbor,  when  I  can  give  testi- 
mony, the  result  of  actual  knowledge,  in  his  favor. 

Although  withdrawn  from  political  agitation  since  the 
death  of  my  august  and  beloved  friend  and  leader,  I  feel  it 
to  be  a  duty  privately  to  come  forward  to  give^  your  Lord- 
shi'p  what  I  believe  to  be  evidence  of  a  very  original  and 
overwhelming  character,  as  my  position  was  unique  in  Ire- 
land, with  respect  to  the  conduct  of  the  Catholic  Clergy;  of 
which  I  had  an  opportunity  of  being  an  intense  observer. 

I  am,  as  your  Lordship  will  condescend  to  recollect,  a 
Protestant,  and  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  an  English  Pro- 
testant University;  but  as  O'ConnelPs  seconder,  at  the 
Clare  elections  of  1828  and  '29,  and  his  Head-Pacificator 
of  Ireland  since  the  autumn  of  the  latter  year,  I  have  had 
more  expansive  and  confidential  inter-communion  with  the 
Catholic  Clergy  of  Ireland,  in  Ulster,  Leinster,  Munster  and 
Connaught,  and  with  the  Catholic  Peasantry,  while  in  a  state 
of  agrarian  insubordination  and  outrage,  than  any  Protest- 
ant who  ever  lived. 

Judge  Burton  while  passing  sentence  of  imprisonment 
upon  the  august  father  of  his  country,  volunteered  the  ad- 
mission, that  he  firmly  believed  that  "  Mr.  O'Connell  was 
anxious  to  keep  the  peace  of  the  country,  and  that  he  did 
keep  it.^^ 


APPTSKDIX. 


W 


I  have  been  at  noontide  and  midnight  among  Terry  ^Its, 
Lady  Clares,  Whitefeet,  and  reviving  Rockites  ;  and  after 
I  left  the  Richmond .  Prison  among  Molly  Maguires  and 
Tipperary  men — and  I  now  proceed  to  prove  how  well- 
grounded  was  the  atrocious  and  revolting  lie  of  Scorpion 
Stanley,  and  therefore  pray. with  profound  reverence  per- 
mission to  give  your  Lordship  the  rationale  of  a  Protestant 
pacificator's  mode  of  producing  tranquillization,  by  the 
analogy,  of  course  I  d6  not  say  identity,  of  his  relation  to 
the  Catholic  Priest  at  the  Confessional. 

Instead  of  diffusing  the  subject  over  several  cases,  I  select 
one  as  an  illustration,  but  that  is  a  very  remarkable  one. 

In  the  year  1831,  during  the  time  of  the  Terry  Alt  insur- 
rection in  Clare,  Jones,  Gleeson  and  Hogan,  dressed  in  fe- 
male attire,  with  painted  faces,  and  bonnets  on  their  heads, 
shot  an  unfortunate  herdsman  near  Cratloe  Wood,  and  then 
in  open  day,  danced  with  their  guns  in  their  hands  a  reel 
round  the  body  of  their  slaughtered  victim. 

In  some  time  after  Jones  gave  me  up  his  gun  in  Cratloe 
Wood,  about  midnight,  on  an  occasion  when  I  was  out  in 
the  execution  of  my  duty  as  O'Connell's  Head  Pacificator 
of  Ireland. 

I  was  accompanied  in  my  work  of  peace  over  the  moun- 
tain side,  by  my  lamented  friend,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Fitz- 
gerald of  Cratloe,  and  by  a  young  gentleman,  then  a  divinity 
student  of  Maynooth,  and  now  a  Catholic  clergyman,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Considine. 

Well,  i  went  to  England  after  the  pacification  of  Clare, 
and  returned  in  1832 ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1833  I  was 
sent  by  my  bemoaned  leader  among  the  Kilkenny  White- 
feet. 


248 


APPKNlJlX. 


After  the  repression  of  that  outbreak  I  returned  to  Clare, 
my  native  county. 

In  some  time  after  I  heard  that  Jones  had  committed  an- 
other savage  murder,  and  I  sent  him  word  that  I  wished  to 
meet  him. 

We  did  meet  him  at  midnight  in  Tradree ;  I  was  ac- 
companied by  Mr.  Considine,  still  a  student. 

I  whistled,  and  Jones  came  out  of  a  brake  of  bushes. 

On  his  meeting  me,  I  said,  "  Jones,  do  you  remember  the 
night  when  you  gave  me  up  your  gun  in  Cratloe  Wood,  and 
the  conversation  I  had  with  you  when  we  were  walking  alone. 
Father  Fitzgerald  and  Mr.  Considine  being  at  some  distance 
before  us,  on  the  night  when  I  got  up  so  much  arms  on  the 
mountain  ?" 

He  replied,  "  I  do  remember  it  very  well,  Sir." 

I  then  said,  "  Well,  as  you  do,  you  must  recollect  that  you 
asked  me  what  agreement  had  been  made  by  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  when  he  was  in  Ennis  1" 

I  told  you  that  ^'  the  arrangement  made  by  his  Lordship, 
Dr.  McMahon,  with  the  Marquis  of  Anglesea,  was  this:  — 
that  any  of  the  Terry  Alts  and  Lady  Clares  who  committed 
only  the  ordinary  outrage  of  the  country,  and  who,  after 
giving  up  their  arms  should  return  to  courses  of  peace  and 
order,  would  not  be  disturbed ; — but  for  those  who  had  com- 
mitted murder^  or  any  crime  of  that  kind,  there  could  be  no 
hope  of  mercy." 

I  then  said  to  him,  '^  The  fact  is,  Jones,  I  then  knew  who 
you  were  as  well  as  I  do  now ;  though  1  did  not  seem  to 
know  it,  but  my  business  was  to  get  arms  out  of  the  Terries' 
hands,  and  to  save  them  if  I  could. 

"  I  thought  that  after  this  solemn  warning,  you  would  try 


APPENlilX. 


249 


rries' 


to  make  your  escape  to  America,  or  to  some  other  couhtry^ 
where,  by  a  life  of  penitence,  you  would  try  fco  make  atone- 
ment for  whatever  you  had  done  wrong  at  home — but  now, 
after  two  years,  I  find  you  witli  the  blood  of  another  man 
upon  your  soul !" 

"  Where  is  this  to  end,  Jones ;  are  you  to  murder  every 
man  that  you  take  it  into  your  head  intends  to  give  informa- 
tion against  you  ?" 

"  From  me  you  well  know  that  you  are  as  safe  as  from, 
your  own  Priest  at  the  Confessional ;  for  1  told  the  Terry 
Alts,  and  Lady  Clares  in  this  county,  and  the  Whitefeet  in 
Kilkenny,  that  although  lam  a  Protestant,  they  should  he  as 
safe  in  talking  with  me,  as  in  making  a  Confession  in  the 
Chapel  to  their  own  Clergy.^' 

This,  my  venerated  Lord  Bishop,  is  the  moral  analogy  I 
have  alluded  to ; — and  let  any  one  show  me  the  living  man, 
or  the  man  who  ever  lived  in  Ireland,  who  being  in  the 
closest  co-operation  with  the  Catholic  Clergy,  and  using 
the  magic  name  of  O'Connell  as  his  talismanic  spell,  did  so 
much  as  I  did,  to  preserve,  or  to  restore  the  peace  of  Ire- 
land. 

The  Catholic  Clergy  are,  as  your  Lordship  well  knows, 
in  every  part  of  Ireland  wonder-workers,  by  legitimate 
means — without  the  violation  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Confes- 
sional, in  preventing  murder  and  other  crime. 

When  I  was  in  this  county  in  1845,  I  was  reviled  as  a 
"  Thug"  by  the  Evening  Packet,  because  I  did  not  trans- 
mute myself  into  an  Informer ! 

There  is  very  much  more  of  deep  interest  interwoven 
with  the  story  of  Jones — but  I  abstain  from  over-laying  this 
communication  to  your  Lordship  with  more  matters  than  are 


250 


APPENDIX. 


#bBolutoIy  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  not 
merely  by  absolute  facts,  but  by  ethical  analogy  In  the  case 
of  a  Protestant,  the  inestimable  value  of  the  sanctified 
secresy  of  the  Confessional,  in  preventing  or  repressing  of 
Irish  crime ; — of  crime  in  retribution  for  other  ghastly  crime, 
committed  by  perpetrators  who  ought  to  possess  moral  illu- 
mination superior  to  that  of  the  Irish  frize-coated  peasant. 

One  incident  I  must  not  omit. 

Before  meeting  Jones  the  second  time,  I  went  specially 
to  the  Palace  of  my  illustrious  and  ever-lamented  friend, 
that  glorious  Prelate,  Doctor  M*Mahon,  the  Catholic  Lord 
Bishop  of  Killaloe,  and  told  him  I  was  that  night  going  to 
meet  Jones  the  murderer,  to  try,  if  I  could,  to  divert  him 
from  his  course  of  crime. 

His  sanctified  Lordship,  not  only  condescended  to  express 
his  fervid  approbation  of  my  work  of  peace,  and  preventing 
multiplied  murder,  but  he  gave  me  his  benediction  on  my 
retiring  from  his  presence. 

I  may  as  well  mention  what  Jones  said  to  me  that  night, 
when  he  declared  that  he  did  not  intend  to  be  a  second  time 
a  homicide : 

**  I  did  not  intend  to  kill  him,  Mr.  Steele ;  I  had  reason 
to  think  that  he  was  preparing  to  give  information  against 
me,  and  I  wanted  to  frighten  him  by  giving  him  a  terrible 
beating.  If  I  wanted  to  kill  him.  Sir,"  continued  he,  taking 
a  brace  of  pistols  from  his  breast  pockets  and  displaying 
them  to  Mr.  Considine  and  me,  ^^  I  could  have  killed  him 
very  easily." 

I  pray  leave  to  conclude  by  stating  that  when  I  went  on 
my  'hree  missions  of  peace  into  Ulster,  it  was  solely  to  warn 
the  Catholics  not  to  interfere  with  the  intended  marching 


APPENDIX. 


251 


of  the  Orangemen,  then  recently  legalized  by  the  expira- 
tion of  the  Processions  Act. 

Wishing  your  Lordship,  from  my  heart,  many  and  very 
happy  returns  of  Christmas  and  New  Years,  I  have  the 
honor  to  remain,  your  Lordship's  most  sine  ^e  and  faithful 
servant  and  friend,  Thomas  Steele. 

The  Catholic  Lord  Bishop  of  Derry. 


My  Dear  Sir, — ^I  have  read  with  much  attention  the 
terms  for  a  re-union  of  Repealers,  and  am  happy  to  have 
to  say  that  they  are  such  as  to  meet  with  my  unqualified 
approval.  I  fondly  hope  that  no  obstructions  will  be 
thrown  in  the  way  of  a  cordial,  perfect  reconciliation 
between  all  sections  of  Repealers.  It  is  the  one  thing 
r  ecessary  for  us.  Division  has  ever  been  the  curse  of 
our  country ;  and  what  we  are,  the  most  miserable  peo- 
ple on  earth,  we  would  not  have  been,  were  it  not  for 
our  foolish,  our  wicked  altercations.  Fortunately  for 
us,  we  can  now  unite  without  any  compromise  of  princi- 
ple ;  recent  events  have  removed  the  ground  of  difference, 
and  have  made  the  feelings  and  duties  of  all  parties 
identical.  We  have  not  now  much  left  of  our  constitu- 
tion to  contend  about.  Indeed,  for  my  own  part,  during 
my  mission  in  Ireland,  I  but  seldom  had  the  gratifica- 
tion of  seeing  its  beautiful  theory  practically  and  benefi- 
cially illustrated.  Three-fourths  of  our  people  were 
placed  beyond  its  pale,  and  depended  for  life  and  liberty 
on  the  nod  of  some  village  lord,  who  was  as  much  an 
autocrat  as  the  Emperor  of  Russia.    There  was  neither 


252 


APPENDIX 


law  nor  justice  for  them.  The  only  liberty  they  en- 
joyed was  the  liberty  to  pay  rack-rent,  to  kiss  the  rod 
that  scourged  them,  to  worship  the  taskmaster,  and  to 
peacefully  starve  after,  amidst  the  abundance  produced 
by  their  own  labor.  A  beautiful  constitution,  indeed, 
and  proud  we  should  be  to  have  it,  with  our  desolate 
harbors,  our  millions  of  acres  of  waste  lands,  and  our 
millions  unemployed ;  our  merchants  bankrupt ;  our 
farmers,  if  left  the  name,  beggars ;  the  best,  the  bravest 
of  our  countrymen  rotting  in  heaps  on  the  shores  of 
the  stranger;  the  remainder,  for  the  most  part,  gaunt 
spectres,  flitting  over  the  richest,  the  loveliest  land  on 
earth  ;  the  country  covered  with  the  ruins  of  levelled  vil- 
lages ;  the  ruthless  exterminator,  protected  in  his  savage 
onslaught  by  the  "  horse"  and  foot  of  tliia  blessed  con- 
stitution in  the  enforcement  of  his  rights  against  every- 
thing which  Christianity,  if  not  a  mockery,  makes  a  duty ; 
candor  and  truth  made  treason,  love  of  country  a  felony ; 
the  seven-eighths  of  Irishmen  deemed  unworthy  of  cre- 
dit on  their  oaths,  and  at  every  elbow  a  spy  or  in- 
former, under  the  bland  name  of  a  detective — such  char- 
acters as  Plautus,  with  a  master-hand,  delineates.  The 
seal  of  faith,  under  which  friends  correspond  with 
friends,  and  confidingly  pour  into  each  others'  souls  the 
secrets  of  their  hearts,  is  every  day  unblushingly  broken, 
and  which  to  violate  would  make  even  the  barbarian 
shudder ;  the  whole  country  a  garrison — tens  of  thou- 
sands, horse,  foot  and  artillery,  ingloriously  watching 
the  convulsions  and  writhiugs  of  the  starving  victims 
of  misrule,  lest  the  slightest  symptom  of  disaffection 
should  go  unnoticed  or  unpunished ;  millions,  in  a  word, 


APPENDIX. 


258 


of  our  children,  kinsmen,  neighbors,  all  our  country- 
men, consigned  to  their  coffinless  graves;  mothers, 
through  rabid  hunger,  devouring  their  own  children, 
and  children  hanging  from  the  breasts  of  their  dead 
mothers,  and  all  the  while  my  Lord  Lansdowne  boasts, 
in  the  face  of  an  astonished  world,  of  the  happiness  of 
the  Irish  people  living  under  such  a  constitution,  and 
congratulates  himself  and  his  noble  colleagues  on  the 
more  than  celestial  manner  in  which  they  had  discharged 
their  duty  to  Ireland.  Let  us,  Sir,  leave  this  beautiful 
constitution  to  those  who  enjoy  it,  and  combine,  as 
Christians  should  ever  combine,  heart  and  soul,  to  save, 
if  possible,  our  country.  There  is  no  need  for  disputing 
about  what  the  maliCe  of  men  has  made  for  us,  "a 
mockery,  a  delusion  and  a  snare."  Let  us'  unite  to  make 
the  name  a  reality,  to  make  fiction  truth,  and  give  a 
substantial  being  to  what  has  hitherto  been  to  us  the 
poisonous,  blighting  shade  of  an  upas-tree.  It  would  be 
a  pity.  Sir,  to  keep  such  men  as  Messrs.  O'Connell  and 
O'Brien  asunder.  Their  every  sympathy  is  with  their 
native  land — their  hearts  beat  responsive.  Why  should 
not  their  energies  be  linked  together  for  the  regeneration 
of  that  country  to  which  they  both  are  so  warmly  and 
so  devotedly  attached.  Let  the  past  be  generously  for- 
gotten and  forgiven,  and  let  the  future  be  a  cordial, 
united  effort  to  lead  the  Irish  people  onward  to  a  peace- 
ful triumph.  I  here,  Sir,  merely  echo  the  sentiments  of 
every  man,  lay  and  ecclesiastical,  with  whom  I  have 
lately  conversed  on  this  subject.  All  declare  for  a  re- 
union of  Eepealers,  because  disunion  has  made  us  the 
pity  of  our  friends  and  the  scorn  of  our  enemies ;  be- 


254 


APPENDIX. 


cans:  every  man  who  hates  Ireland  and  writes  against 
it,  dreads  and  protests  against  this  union ;  because  dis- 
united we  exhibit  to  the  world,  and  especially  to  the 
Government,  our  weakness,  and  thereby  tempt  them  to 
use  the  favorite  weapon  of  the  tyrant — coercion ;  be- 
cause disunited  we  cannot  aid  them  to  carry  out  any 
good  intentions,  if  they  have  any,  in  favor  of  our  coun- 
try ;  because  Heaven,  whose  law  is  union,*  order  and 
peace,  never  yet  blessed  disunion ;  because,  in  a  word, 
they  believe  that  union  alone  can  save  the  country  from 
convulsion,  from  civil  war,    *    *    [MS.  unfinished.] 


» 


— \ 


inst 
dis- 
the 
11  to 
be- 
any 
3un- 
and 
ord, 
from 

.] 


ROMAN  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Rome,  January  1,  1848. 
My  Lord, — ^I  received  your  Lordship's  kind  letter  after 
I  had  set  out  on  my  road  to  the  Eternal  City.  This 
was  the  reason  that  impeded  me  from  answering  you 
ere  now.  I  regretted  very  much  not  to  have  been  able 
to  visit  Derry.  I  am,  however,  extremely  grateful  to 
your  Lordship  for  your  kind  invitation,  and  I  would,  I 
am  sure,  have  been  delighted  with  the  North,  had  I  had 
time  to  enjoy  your  hospitality,  but  the  winter  was  ad- 
vancing so  rapidly  that  I  thought  it  necessary  to  get  to 
the  South,  lest  at  a  later  period  I  should  be  impeded 
altogether  from  travelling.  Here  in  Rome  I  find  all 
things  quiet.  The  Pope  is  well,  and  going  on  calmly  and 
determinedly  with  his  reforms.  •  The  great  bulk  of  the 
people  are  with  him ;  but  there  are  some  who  are  greatly 
adverse  to  any  changes,  and  there  is  a  small  but  violent 
faction  which  would  drive  things  to  extremities.  This 
faction  is  very  active;  they  have  all  the  newspapers, 
and  they  expressed  the  greatest  delight  at  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  Catholics  of  Switzerland.  They  are  as  bad 
as  the  old  French  demagogues,  or  as  our  own  Orange- 
men. They  will  give  the  Pope  a  thousand  times  more 
trouble  than  the  Austrians ;  however,  I  trust  His  Holi- 
ness will  be  able  to  keep  them  in  order.  If  they  once 
get  the  upper  hand,  we  shall  have  sad  work  in  Italy.    I 


256 


APPENDIX. 


dare  say  the  English  agents  are  encouraging  this  faction. 
They  are  bad  enough  to  do  anything.  Lord  Minto  is 
still  in  Eome.  There  is  do  doubt  but  that  his  object  in 
remaining  here  is  to  open  diplomatic  relations  with 
Eome.  How  far  he  will  succeed  is  as  yet  uncertain ; 
but  if  Parliament  revokes  the  old  laws  against  commu- 
nications with  the  Pope,  I  dare  say  an  ambassador  will 
be  sent  immediately.  The  English  here  are  most  busy 
in  circulating  the  usual  calumnies  against  the  Irish 
clergy ;  they  even  carried  their  accusations  to  the  Pope. 
After  my  return  from  Ireland,  His  Holiness  sent  for  me 
and  questioned  me  on  the  matter.  I  explained  every- 
thing to  him,  and  he  remained  perfectly  satisfied.  lie 
is  warmly  attached  to  poor  Ireland.  The  object  of  the 
English  appears  to  be  to  destroy  that  sympathy  which 
the  famine  of  last  year  excited  everywhere  in  favor  of 
our  country,  and  at  the  same  time  to  poison  the  minds 
of  the  authorities  here  in  such  a  way  as  to  dispose  them 
to  hand  over  the  Irish  clergy  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
state  management.  I'  think  they  will  not  succeed  in 
Eome ;  but  they  Kave  bribed  all  the  newspapers  of  Eu- 
rope to  propagate  their  lies.  Well,  we  must  console, 
ourselves  with  the  promise  of  our  Saviour,  Beati  estis 
cum  vos  calumniari' 

I  believe  Lord  Minto  attempted  to  speak  to  His  Holi- 
ness about  the  College  question,  but  the  Pope  stopped 
him,  and  said  that  that  was  a  spiritual  matter,  which 
was  between  himself  and  the  Bishops.  His  Holiness 
appears  quite  pleased  with  the  decision  he  gave. 

I  believe  I  did  not  express  myself  sufficiently  clearly 
in  my  last  regarding  the  pastoral ;  what  I  meant  was 


APPENDIX. 


267 


that  your  Lordship  should  publish  something  in  your 
name  to  the  people  of  Derry  regarding  the  Pope,  just  as 
the  French  Bishops  have  done  in  their  respective  dio- 
ceses. If  your  Lordship  would  do  something  in  that 
way,  it  would  have  a  good  effect  not  only  at  home  but 
here  in  Italy.  It  is  necessary  to  support  the  Pope,  to 
show  that  he  should  be  kept  independeht  both  of  des- 
potic powers  and  of  popular  parties,  in  order  to  govern 
the  Church  as  he  ought. 

I  never  undertook  to  write  the  address  against  prosly- 
tism  ;•  the  thing  would  have  been  useful,  but  the  arrival 
of  the  condemnation  of  the  colleges  made  the  Bishops 
forget  it.  Rev.  Mr.  Dooley  engaged  to  get  some  one  to 
write,  but  the  matter  was  neglected. 

Excuse,  my  Lord,  the  haste  with  which  I  have  writ- 
ten these  lines.  If  you  publish  the  letter  to  your  peo- 
ple on  the  Pope's  authority  and  independence,  be  so 
good  as  to  send  us  a  copy.  I  have  tlie  honor  to  be,  with 
profound  respect, 

Your  devoted,  obedient  server  t, 

Paul  Cul:>en. 

P.  S.  An  English  gentleman  tranwshted  your  letter 
on  tenant-right  to  show  that  you  were  violent.  See 
what  mischief  they  are  intent  on. 


sarly 
was 


April  8,  1848 
My  Lord, — ^I  am  sorry  that  I  have  only  a  moment  to 
write  you  a  line.     I  gave  the  substancr  of  your  Lord- 
ship's letter  to  His  Holiness.     He  said  that  you  would 
know  his  sentiments  from  the  letter  he  had  sent  to  tLe 


258 


APPENDIX. 


If  -ifi 


Bishop.  I  hope  that  letter  has  not  been  lost;  it  was 
posted  on  the  29th  of  February  and  entered,  so  if  lost  it 
can  be  traced  out. 

Here  things  are  quiet  still,  but  there  is  great  excite- 
ment— all  the  Italians  are  in  arms  to  drive  out  the  Aus- 
trians.  The  Pope's  troops  have  entered  Lombardy.  God 
grant  things  may  end  well.  The  Austrians  deserve  to  be 
chastised  as  they  were  great  enemies  of  the  liberty  of  the 
Church.  I  hope  Kussia  too  will  be  punished,  and  Eng- 
land that  she  may  be  converted  and  live. 

Lord  Minto  is  expected  in  Eome  to-day — ^he  will  not 
be  able  to  do  much  mischief.  The  Italians  in  general  are 
now  against  English  influence.  They  have  more  reliance 
on  the  French.  I  think  Lord  Minto's  money  was  thrown 
away  in  buying  popularity.  He  will  get  no  more  ap- 
plause from  the  people. 

Excuse  this  hasty  scroll.  I  will  write  more  at  length 
by  next  post. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  profoundest  respect,  your 
devoted  obedient  servant,  Paul  Cullen. 


Rome,  May  8,  1848. 
My  Lord, — I  write  a  line,  and  a  hurried  one,  to  your 
Lordship,  to  inform  you  about  the  state  of  things  here. 
The  two  Bishops  arrived  here,  and  had  a  most  satisfac- 
tory interview  with  the  Pope.  He  is  a  real  friend  to 
Ireland,  and  I  think  he  will  actively  aefend  the  cause 
c^  our  Church.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Ennis  has  just  arrived. 
His  mission  is  to  get  the  statutes  of  the  colleges  ap- 
proved. No  one  as  yet  has  seen  them.  I  hope  he  will 
not  be  able  to  make  any  impression. 


APPENDIX. 


259 


ap- 
wiU 


The  state  of  things  in  Kome  is  very  sad.  You  are 
aware  of  all  the  revolutionary  movement?  that  have 
taken  place  in  Lombardy.  The  people  of  the  Pope's 
states  sympathized  very  deeply  with  their  bj-othren  of 
the  North,  and  many  volunteers  set  out  to  join  them. 
The  Pope's  troops,  too,  were  so  enthusiastic  in  the  cause, 
that  their  general  could  not  impede  them  from  crossing 
the  Po  and  entering  the  Austrian  dominions.  When 
things  were  at  this  stage,  the  radical  and  violent  party 
here  called  on  the  Pope  to  declare  war  on  Austria.  The 
Pope  answered  in  a  magnificent  allocution  of  the  29th 
April,  declaring  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  assail 
any  power,  that  he  was  the  minister  of  the  God  of 
peace,  and  that  he  could  not  desire  war.  However,  he 
did  not  say  a  word  against  the  Italian  movement,  nor 
against  his  own  subjects  for  having  entered  Lombardy. 
The  radical  party,  which  is  the  same  that  was  encouraged 
in  Switzerland  and  elsewhere  by  England,  became  fu- 
rious after  the  Pope's  allocution,  and  we  were  on  the 
point  of  having  a  civil  war  in  the  city.  Several  cardi- 
nals were  arrested,  and  the  Pope  himself  threatened  by 
the  mob.  Things  remained  in  this  way  for  one  or  two 
days.  The  Popcacted  most  courageously ;  he  addressed 
the  people,  and  threatened  to  use  his  spiritual  powers 
against  his  assailant.  The  conduct  and  determination 
of  the  Pope  overawed  the  radicals,  and  things  have  re- 
turned again  to  their  usual  tranquillity.  It  is  hard  to 
know  how  long  they  will  remain  quiet.  The  clubs  are 
at  work,  and  they  can  conjure  up  a  storm  any  day  they 
wish.  The  great  bulk  of  the  people  of  Eome  are  for 
the  Pope,  but  they  are  passive  and  not  organized ;  the 


260 


APPENDIX. 


I 


radicals  are  connected  with  those  of  Switzerland,  en- 
couraged by  foreign  influence,  and  well  organized, 
though  not  numerous.  I  hope  the  people  of  Ireland 
will  pray  for  His  Holiness,  and  speak  out  in  his  defence. 
I  wish  your  Lordship  would  write  a  good  address  to 
them  on  the  matter,  and  explain  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing the  Holy  Father  independent.  The  public  opinion 
of  ^  /;  world  does  a  great  deal. 

1  *  ijjret  very  much  you  did  not  come.  It  is  the  wish 
of  Hi-  Holiness  that  the  Bishops  should  hold  their  next 
i:!ief»ting  in  a  synodical  form.  The  majority  will  then  be 
abk  >  do  something  efficacious.  It  is  the  only  way  to 
impede  further  aggressions. 

I  received  your  Lordship's  letter,  and  then  one  from 
the  Cardinal.  His  Eminence  will  not  think  much  of 
Dr.  Nicholson  now. 

The  Jesuits  were  obliged  to  leave  the  Eonmn  College 
about  a  week  ago.  The  Eadical  faction  here  is  making 
active  attempts  to  get  possession  of  it,  and  to  make  it  a 
lay  establishment,  in  order  the  more  easily  to  propagate 
their  errors  and  revolutionary  doctrines.  The  Pope  has 
resisted  them  very  decidedly,  and  the  college  is  given  to 
the  secular  clergy,  if  they  will  be  able  to  keep  in  pos- 
session. The  war  here  is  lie  Stuiie  now  as  in  Ireland — 
the  bad  faction  wishes  to  get  hold  of  ti ..  public  educa- 
tion. Dr.  McHale  and  Dr.  Higgins  beg  to  be  remem- 
bered to  you.    Dr.  Kirby  also  desires  his  best  respects. 

I  was  very  happy  to  hear  that  your  convent  was  go- 
It  will  be  a  blessing  to  Derry.     The  good  nuns 
more  good  than  can  be  done  by  any  other  class  of 


mg  on 


APPENDIX. 


261 


people.    Excuse  haste,  and  believe  me  to  be,  with  pro- 
foundest  respect  and  veneration, 

Your  devoted,  obedient  servant, 

Paul  Cullen. 

Having  written  these  lines  at  ditterent  times,  you  will 
find  several  repetitions.  You  must  excuse  them,  as  not 
true  to  copy. 

I  am  at  present  in  the  Propaganda  College,  but  I  ex- 
pect to  get  back  in  a  short  time.  The  Jesuits  had  charge 
of  the  Propaganda ;  but  having  been  obliged  to  yield 
to  the  mob,  the  Cardinal  Prefect  requested  me  to  take 
the  management  of  the  place  for  a  while.  I  could  not 
refuse. 

If  your  Lordship  will  read  the  243d  letter  of  St.  Ber- 
nard— it  is  addressed  to  the  Eomans — you  will  find  an 
accurate  account  of  the  present  state  of  things.  The 
Popes  have  had  their  troubles  in  every  century.  Pius 
VII.  had  his  share ;  Pius  IX.  cannot  be  expected  to  get 
off  without  theln,  but  they  always  triumph.  Tu  es  Pe- 
trus. 

P.  S.  I  hope  the  clergy  will  be  able  to  keep  the  peo- 
ple quiet.  England  must  yield  something  very  soon, 
but  it  would  be  deplorable  to  have  a  civil  war.  What 
a  loss  O'Connell  is  now !  However,  his  principles  ought 
to  be  maintained.  Civil  war  and  revolutions  destroy 
religion. 


Irish  College,  Rome,  May  28, 1848. 
My  Dear  Lord, — In  my  letter  of  the  23d  of  this  month 
I  gave  your  Lordship  a  general  idea  of  the  contents  of  Dr. 


ym 


262 


APPENDIX. 


Ennis'  pamphlet  regarding  the  "  corrected  statutes,"  for  the 
Infidel  Colleges.  He  has  labored  to  have  these  statutes 
approved  of  by  the  Holy  See,  and  the  Pope's  condemnation 
of  the  Colleges  revoked,  entirely  regardless  of  the  opinions 
of  the  great  majority  of  the  Irish  Bishops  ;  but,  thank  God, 
in  this  respect  he  has  been  signally  defeated.  A  copy  of 
his  pamphfet,  of  the  corrected  statutes,  &c.,  will  forthwith 
be  furnished  by  Rome  to  every  Prelate  in  Ireland,  asking 
his  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  thus  the  dangerous  intrigues 
of  a  heretical  viceroy  and  his  ecclesiastical  abettors  will  be 
laid  bare  before  Catholic  Ireland.  Let  us  hope  that  hence- 
forth  no  man  will  attempt  to  treat  with  government  on  a 
subject  affecting  our  whole  body,  without  first  obtaining  our 
explicit  consent.  The  Archbishop  of  Tuam  and  myself 
intend  to  reply  in  our  own  names  to  Dr.  Ennis*  pamphlet, 
unfolding  its  sophistry  and  reiterating  our  reprobation  of 
the  Colleges.  We  have  no  doubt  that  when  your  Lordship 
sees  this  pamphlet,  you  will,  in  the  soundness  of  your  judg. 
ment  and  in  your  anxiety  for  the  preservation  of  the  faith, 
repeat  your  condemnation  of  these  insidious  and  most  dan- 
gerous institutions.  In  my  anxiety  that  your  Lordship 
should,  without  delay,  have  a  clear  notion  of  the  leading 
features  of  the  pamphlet,  I  beg  leave  to  submit  the  follow- 
ing observations : 

1.  Lord  Clarendon  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Murray  affects  to 
look  upon  him  as  the  organ  of  the  Episcopacy,  nor  does  it 
appear  that  his  Grace  declines  acting  in  that  capacity. 

2.  He  gives  Dr.  Murray  the  whole  of  the  College  sta- 
tutes, and  lends  but  a  very  few  extracts  to  the  Pope  and 
the  Propaganda  !  Both  his  Grace  and  Lord  Clarendon  ap- 
pear familiar  with  pre-existing  statutes  of  which  the  body  of 


APPENDIX. 


268 


sta- 

and 

|)n  ap- 

)dy  of 


the  Prelates  have  no  cognizance  whatever.  His  Excellency 
excuses  himself  for  not  having  furnished  Dr.  Murray  with 
the  corrected  statutes  at  an  earlier  day,  hy  stating  that  the 
whole  attention  of  the  government  was  absorbed  in  efficiently 
relieving  all  the  distress  of  the  Irish  poor ! 

8.  The  corrected  statutes,  as  they  are  termed,  change 
nothing  substantial  in  the  Act — can  themselves  be  changed 
by  any  other  viceroy,  and  though  passed  into  law  by  Parlia- 
liament,  would  not  afford  the  least  protection  to  Catholic 
faith  or  morals,  as  they  leave  all  the  appointments  of  the 
professors  and  other  officers  to  the  will  and  caprice  of  a 
heretical  monarch.  Such  are  the  flimsy  and  insulting  safe- 
guards which  Dr.  Ennis  and  his  Grace  of  Dublin  think 
quite  sufficient  to  protect  our  Catholic  youth  and  our  holy 
religion  in  Ireland,  against  the  power,  the  wealth,  the 
bigotry,  the  proverbial  treachery  of  heretical  England.  Dr. 
Ennis  has  presented  his  pamphlet  to  the  Pope  and  the 
Cardinal  perfect.  It  ends  with  a  commentary  from  himself, 
recommendatory  of  the  statutes  and  the  colleges.  Of  this 
commentary  I  may  say,  in  general  terms,  that  it  is  sophistical, 
insulting,  lying  and  calumnious,  of  the  Irish  Bishops,  Priests 
and  people.  It  states  that  it  is  very  proper  and  wise  to 
leave  all  the  appointments  in  the  hands  of  the  crown,  as  the 
Catholic  Bishop^ might  otherwise  appoint  their  own  political 
favorites,  or  persons  totally  incapable  of  fulfilling  their  re- 
spective duties ! 

4.  That  for  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years  every  Act  of  Par- 
liament passed  for  Ireland  had  in  view  the  protection  and  pro- 
pagation of  the  Catholic  religion  in  that  country ;  and  that 
it  was  necessary  to  leave  the  whole  direction  of  the  Colleges 
with  the  crown,  to  guard  against  the  unmeaning  stubbornness 


264 


APPENDIX. 


01 


with  which  the  Irish  Bishops  would  oppose  the  plans 
every  possible  government. 

6.  That  the  government  will  and  ought  to  proceed  with 
the  Colleges,  despite  of  all  epis  jopal,  priestly,  or  lay  op- 
position, in  order  to  educate  the  Catholic  youth  of  Ireland 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  true  principles  of  the  Catholic 
religion. 

0.  Thc^  all  the  lay  Catholics  of  Ireland  ere  panting  for 
the  completion  of  the  Colleges — that  they  will  rush  to'  them 
in  crowds,  profoundly  grateful  to  their  generous  founders. 

7.  That  the  government  bountifully  distributes  £100,000 
a  year,  chiefly  between  the  Catholic  Bishops,  for  the  educa- 
tion of  their  poor — ogives  £26,000  annually  to  Maynooth — 
that  too  much  lay  Catholic  confidence  in  religious  matters 
should  not  be  placed  in  such  a  government,  is  too  puerile  to 
merit  a  reply. 

8.  The  commGntai-y  closes  by  statin  that  in  no  country 
in  the  world  is  the  Catholic  religion  so  protected  by  govern- 
ment as  in  Ireland — that  we  must  not  be  squeamish  in  look- 
ing for  ''  optimism"  and  insinuates  in  a  menacing  tone  that 
whatever  the  Pope,  Cardinals,  or  Bishops  may  do,  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  people  of  Ireland  will  successfully  carry  out 
the  glorious  principl'^s  of  the  Colleges  !  What  will  the  pure 
faith  and  simple  piety  of  Catholic  Ireland  say  to  this  impious 
and  monstrous  lie  1  Is  there  a  parish  in  the  kingdom  whose 
priests  and  people  will  not  at  once  assemble,  and  in  a  series 
of  plain  resolutions  tell  Rome  and  the  world  their  real  opin- 
ions of  the  Colleges  and  their  patrons  1  This  is  a  duty  so 
obvious  and  so  urgent  that  I  shall  not  insult  your  Lordship 
by  recommending  its  performance.  Dr.  MacHale  and  I  are 
Ji  opinion  that  when  Ennis'  pamphlet  comes  to  hand,  a  joint 


APPENDIX. 


265 


reply  from  tho  orthodox  Prelates  of  Ulster  would  prevent 
any  apparent  discrepancy  that  might  appear  in  individual 
answers.  This  reply  should  be  forwarded  to  Rome  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  Archbishop  of  Tuam  concurs  in  every  sen- 
timent I  here  express,  and  I  must  tror  -  .e  /our  Lordship  to 
have  accurate  copies  of  this  letter  wrii  ^nt  md  forwarded 
without  delay  to  every  Prelate  in  Ul8t<-  entertains  our 

opinion  on  the  Colleges  question.  His  uracu  writes  to  tho 
provinces  of  Munstor  and  Connaught  on  this  subject,  and 
begs  me  to  present  his  affectionate  regards.  Dr.  Nicholson 
is  expected  daily.  He  is  tho  bearer  of  some  intriguing 
documents,  so  that  we  are  likely  to  be  kept  busy. 

•I*  W.  O'HiGGINS. 


[l  opin- 
luty  so 
^rdship 
I  are 
joint 


Irish  College,  Eome,  June  18, 1848. 

My  Lord, — T  write  one  line  to  say  that  Dr.  Ennis  has 
presented  to  the  Propaganda  the  corrections  which  have 
been  made  in  the  system  of  the  godless  Colleges.  The 
Cardinal  has  determined  to  send  to  each  bishop  a  copy 
of  this  document,  in  order  that  each  person  may  make 
his  remarks  on  the  case.  There  appears  to  be  no  sort 
of  protection  for  the  Catholic  religion  in  the  new  regula- 
tions. A  few  words  in  reply  to  them  will  be  enough. 
Dr.  MacHale  is  anxious  that  an  answer  should  be  sent 
as  soon  as  possible.  Write  to  the  other  Bishops,  and 
get  them  to  reply  without  delay. 

In  Eome  we  are  very  quiet.  The  Pope  declared,  and 
declares,  that  he  will  not  have  war  with  any  one ;  the 
ministry  that  has  usurped  the  power  is  carrying  on  war 
most  actively.    The  object  of  some  of  those  who  are 

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•l" 


266 


APPENDIX. 


engaged  in  this  business  seems  to  be  to  destroy  the  pro- 
perty of  the  Church.  If  they  can  keep  on  the  war  for 
the  present  year,  it  will  absorb  all  the  Church  property 
of  those  States.  The  Pope  now  has  little  or  no  author- 
ity ;  the  ministry  is  acting  as  it  wishes.  There  are  two 
governments  here — ^the  Pope  and  his  ministry.  Things 
will  not  remain  much  longer  so.  There  will  be  a  re-ac- 
tion in  favor  of  the  Pope,  and  things  will  be  right  again. 
The  arms  of  the  Italians  have  been  very  unsuccessful  in 
Lombardy. 

Excuse  the  shortness  of  this  scroll,  which  I  send  by 
hand.    I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  profoundest  respect, 
Your  devoted,  obedient  servant, 

Paul  Cullkn. 
Bight  Bev.  Dr.  Maginn,  &c. 


Irish  College,  Bome,  Septemher  5, 1848. 
My  Lord^ — I  beg  to  inclose  a  few  lines  which  His  Ho- 
liness wished  to  write  in  reply  to  the  letter  which  you 
inclosed  to  Dr.  Kirby.  I  translated  lor  him  a  portion 
of  your  letter  to  Dr.  Kirby,  in  which  you  spoke  of  the 
affairs  of  Bome.  He  was  so  much  gratified  with  it,  that 
he  ordered  the  Secretary  to  write  you  a  line  in  return. 
The  extract  of  your  letter  was  published  in  the  Rmian 
Journal  of  the  29th  of  August.  I  hope  you  will  pub- 
lish the  pastoral  address,  of  which  Dr.  Kirby  wrote  to 
you.  It  will  be  gratifying  to  His  Holiness  to  see  distant 
Bishops  take  an  interest  in  his  welfare,  and  to  learn  that 
he  has  the  support  of  the  most  distant  churches.  At 
the  same  time  such  an  address  will  rouse  the  spirit  of 
the  Catholics,  not  only  at  home  but  abroad. 


APPENDIX. 


267 


lub- 
to 

ant 
lat 
At 
of 


In  Borne  we  have  been  rather  quiet  for  the  last  few 
weeks.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  is  for  the  Pope, 
but  the  young  Italians  are  bold  and  organized,  and 
though  few  in  number,  they  can  keep  everything  in 
confusion.  I  dare  say  there  are  not  more  than  fourteen 
or  fifteen  hundred  such  gentlemen  in  Eome,  and  still 
they  have  been  able  to  keep  everything  in  disorder,  and 
to  put  the  Pope  at  defiance  for  the  last  six  months.  I 
believe  there  is  no  great  danger  of  a  revolution.  The 
people  might  be  roused  to  action,  if  anything  violent 
were  attempted  against  the  Pope.  Several  times  mat- 
ters appeared  quite  ripe  for  a  change  of  government; 
but  after  a  few  days'  noise,  things  settled  down  again. 
However,  the  Pope  has  not  that  freedom  or  indepen- 
dence of  action  which  would  be  necessary  for  him,  in 
order  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  universal  Church. 
This  would  be  a  thing  to  be  insisted  on  in  any  address, 
that  the  Pope  must  be  kept  independent  not  only  of 
sovereigns  or  foreign  States,  but  also  he  must  not  be 
swayed  in  his  spiritual  capacity  by  his  own  unruly  sub- 
jects. 

Some  of  the  young  Italians  are  now  endeavoring  to 
propagate  Protestantism  in  Italy.  They  were  displeas- 
ed with  the  Pope  for  not  declaring  war  on  the  Austrians. 
They  wish  now  to  revenge  themselves  by  promoting 
heresy.  The  Pope  mentioned  this  fact  last  Sunday  in  an 
address,  which  he  delivered  at  the  church  of  S.  Pantalio, 
when  publishing  the  decree  for  the  beatification  of  the 
Jesuit  Father  Claver.  The  young  Italians,  or  Italian 
liberals,  are  showing  a  very  bad  spirit.  Their  efforts  to 
promote  Protestantism  will  have  no  effect. 


i268 


APPENDIX. 


I  wiU  now  mention  a  circumstance  which  is  to  be 
entre  nous.  The  Pope  told  a  prelate  the  other  day  that 
when  Lord  Minto  was  here,  he  spoke  to  His  Holiness 
about  pensioning  the  Irish  clergy,  and  begged  of  him  to 
interfere  to  induce  the  clergy  to  accept  the  favors  of  gov- 
ernment. The  Pope  said  he  could  not  think  of  doing 
so ;  but  if  the  matter  be  left  to  me,  I  will  make  a  pro- 
posal which  ought  to  appear  reasonable  to  Government, 
and  I  will  pledge  myself  to  induce  the  Irish  to  accept  it. 
Minto  said  he  would  be  very  happy  to  hear  the  project. 
The  Pope  replied  that  the  Irish  Catholic  Church  was 
formerly  very  rich.  Bestore  half  the  property  of  which 
they  were  stripped,  the  Catholics  will  absolve  you  from 
the  restitution  of  the  remainder,  and  let  things  be  thus 
settled.  Lord  Minto  said  in  return,  that  the  Queen 
would  consent  to  lose  the  last  jewel  of  her  crown,  rather 
than  entertain  such  a  proposal.  After  this  conversation 
Lord  Minto  never  spoke  any  more  about  pensioning  the 
clergy.  If  the  project  should  be  proposed  by  Govern- 
ment, perhaps  some  similar  proposal  would  have  the 
effect  of  turning  the  thoughts  of  our  rulers  to  some  other 
matter,  and  make  them  forget  so  dangerous  ;  heme  as 
that  of  pensioning  the  clergy. 

I  fear  you  must  be  all  in  a  sad  way  in  Ireland.  What 
will  the  poor  people  do  if  the  potatoes  fail  ?  I  hope 
God  and  the  Blessed  Virgin  will  protect  them.  There 
is  some  talk  that  His  Holiness  will  define  or  declare  the 
doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  on  the  8th  of 
December  next.  A  great  number  of  Bishops  from 
every  part  of  the  world  have  petitioned  him  to  do  so. 
I  wish  the  Irish  Bishops  would  join  the  petition.    It 


APPENDIX 


269 


le  as 

'hat 
[hope 
?here 
[e  tlie 
Ih  of 

from 
|o  so. 
It 


might  be  the  means  of  gaining  protection  for  poor  Ire- 
land. We  want  a  powerful  intercessor. 
•  Drs.  Machale  and  O'Higgins  have  written  a  long  an- 
swer to  Dr.  Ennis.  They  have  crushed  the  poor  man. 
He  will  get  little  thanks  for  his  mission.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  that  the  former  decree  of  the  Propaganda  will 
be  confirmed.  The  Pope  himself  has  a  similar  contest 
here  in  his  own  states.  The  young  Italians  want  to 
shake  off  all  independence  from  the  clergy  in  matters 
of  education.  The  Pope  has  determined  to  support  the 
rights  of  the  clergy.  He  must  do  the  same  in  Ireland. 
Dr.  Kirby  desires  to  be  remembered  to  you.  He  is  at 
Tivoli,  with  the  Irish.  I  am  at  the  ancient  Tusculum 
with  the  students  of  the  Propaganda.  I  expect  to  get 
back  to  the  Irish  College  very  soon,  as  the  affairs  of 
Bome  will  probably  allow  the  Jesuits  to  return.  At  all 
events,  I  could  not  remain  in  the  Propaganda.  I  have 
not  strength  enough  for  a  very  laborious  ofiice. 

I  hope  your  nerves  are  getting  on  well.  It  is  a  glo- 
rious thing  to  see  religion  triumphing  in  the  strongholds 
of  heresy,  notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  of  the 
times.  The  nuns,  when  once  properly  established,  will 
be  a  great  blessing  to  Derry.  I  beg  you  will  have  the 
kindness  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  His  Holiness' 
letter.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  profoundest  re- 
spect, your  devoted,  obedient  servant^ 

Paul  Cullen. 


Irish  College,  Rome,  September  14, 1848. 
My  Dear  Lordy — ^Your  Lordship's  kind  letter  of  the  26th 


270 


APPENDIX 


of  Angast  reached  me  here  in  due  time.  I  was  delighted 
in  reading  every  portion  of  it,  but  more  particularly  that 
which  had  reference  to  your  communication  to  the  Holy 
Father.  Such  documents  are  calculated  to  do  great  service 
to  the  cause  of  truth,  and  yours  has  given  much  satisfaction 
to  His  Holiness.  We  have  at  length  left  our  final  eocpose 
in  print  with  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals.  The  case  will  be 
discussed  on  the  25th  of  this  month  in  a  full  congregation, 
and  the  opinion  of  their  £n!iinences  will  be  laid  before  the 
Pope  on  the  foUowmg  Sunday.  ^^Pendente  lente,^''  it  would 
be  rash  to  speak  with  absolute  certainty ;  still  I  venture  to 
say,  the  decision  will  be  fully  to  our  wishes.  You  can 
scarcely  conceive  the  unjustifiable  means  resorted  to  by  our 
blind  and  unprincipled  opponents.  Everything  that  sys- 
tematic lying,  or  British  intrigue,  as  well  as  the  base  con- 
duct of  false  brethren  could  effect,  was  called  unscrupulously 
into  requisition ;  but  the  justice  of  the  cause  and  the  prayers 
of  the  faithful,  have,  so  far,  baffled  our  enemies  and  left  us 
high  in  the  ascendant.  All  will  depend  on  the  Pope's  Placet 
of  the  25th.    May  it  be  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost ! 

Your  next  meeting  will  be  of  transcendent  importance, 
and  I  ardently  hope  that  your  Lordship  and  the  other 
vjwthy  Prelates  of  the  Province  will  be  in  Dublin  several 
days  before  the  general  assembling  of  the  Prelates.  This 
will  be  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  make  due  prepara* 
tions  to  meet  the  common  enemy.  Probably  you  will  be 
assailed  by  menaces,  flattery,  or  delusive  promises,  and  all 
must  be  opposed  with  discernment,  courage  and  perseverance. 
It  would  be  well,  if  not  necessary,  to  express  deep  sym- 
pathy with  the  calummated,  persecuted  and  half-starved 
Irish  people,  as  aibo  with  His  Holiness  in  his  great  difficul- 


APPENDIX. 


271 


ties.  As  to  the  claims  of  the  truth-telling,  high-minded, 
and  paternal  Whigs  on  the  approval,  direct  or  indirect,  of 
the  Irish  clergy,  the  extent  of  such  claims  will  be  found  in 
theur  government  of  Ireland  for  the  laslr  three  years.  Bold 
speaking  should  be  the  order  of  the  day,  and  **  no  sur- 
render" our  watchword.  The  more  firmly  you  express 
your  opinions,  the  more  will  you  be  approved  of  here.  In 
every  sentiment  which  I  thus  venture  to  express  to  your 

Lordship,  I  am  most  cordially  jomed  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Tuam.  Minto  is  hourly  expected  in  Rome !  The  Arch- 
bishop sends  his  most  sincere  regards. 

My  dear  Lord,  ever  faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

4«  W.  O'HiGGIMS. 

Most  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn. 


Rome,  Jfovernher  24, 1848. 

My  Lord, — ^I  received  your  Lordship's  letter  some  time 
ago,  and  sent  the  letter  for  the  Pope  to  him  without  delay. 

I  now  write  a  few  lines  to  let  you  know  how  things  stand 
here.  On  the  15th  instant  the  Roman  chamber  of  deputies 
was  to  meet.  Count  Rossi,  the  Pope's  principal  minister, 
went  to  assist  at  the  meeting.  He  had  scarcely  left  his  car- 
riage, when  he  was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  volunteers 
who  had  returned  from  Lombardy,  and  an  assassin  gave 
him  a  blow  with  a  dagger  in  the  neck  and  killed  him  on  the 
spot.  Rossi's  crime  was,  that  during  his  ministry  of  two 
months  he  had  restored  order  in  Rome  and  in  the  pro- 
vinces, and  was  endeavoring  to  put  government  on  a 
firm  footing.  The  death  of  Rossi  was  considered  a 
triumph  by  the  radical  faction.    They  went  shouting  like 


272 


APPENDIX. 


demons  through  the  streets,  and  exulting  in  the  crime 
they  had  committed.  The  next  day  the  same  party  as- 
sembled in  great  force,  and  went  to  the  Pope's  palace  to 
compel  him  to  ap{)oint  ministers  of  their  choice,  and 
to  require  that  he  should  declare  war  on  Austria,  and 
invoke  some  sort  of  a  diet  of  all  Italy  in  Bome.  The 
Pope  appointed  a  new  ministry,  but  refused  to  accede  to 
the  other  conditions.  His  palace  was  then  assailed  by 
the  mob.  Faggots  were  put  against  its  doors  to  bum 
them,  and  a  cannon  was  planted  opposite  the  entrance  of 
the  palace  to  force  a  way  into  it.  One  of  the  Pope's 
secretaries,  Monsignor  Palma,  a  most  excellent  and 
learned  man,  unfortunately  approached  one  of  the  win- 
dows, and  was  shot  through  the  heart.  After  some  time 
the  guards  of  the  palace,  who  were  but  a  few  in  number, 
had  to  yield,  and  the  Pope  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
radical  mob.  This  is  the  same  faction  which  trampled 
on  the  Catholics  of  Switzerland,  and  has  been  encouraged 
by  some  of  our  good  diplomatists.  How  matters  will 
now  terminate,  it  is  difficult  to  know.  The  Cardinals 
here,  with  the  exception  of  three  or  four,  all  left  the  city. 
The  Pope  is  alone,  and  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
and  the  enemies  of  order  and  religion.  I  hope  your 
Lordship  will  write  a  few  lines  to  excite  public  indigna- 
tion against  the  conduct  of  those  men.  They  are  generally 
these  whose  chains  were  struck  off  two  years  ago  by  the 
Pope.  It  is  a  most  deplorable  thing  that  so  good  and 
so  holy  a  Pontiff  should  meet  with  so  much  ingratitude. 
There  is  but  a  poor  chance  for  the  independence  of  Italy, 
when  its  pretended  defenders  show  such  impiety  and  in- 
famy. 


APFSNDIX. 


278 


Drs.  MacHale  and  Higgins  had  lefb  before  the  tumults 
here  commenced.  I  hope  their  success  gave  general  satis- 
faction. The  Pope  and  Cardinals,  who  displayed  so  much 
courage,  ought  to  be  supported  by  the  voice  of  all  Chris- 
tendom. Dr.  Kirby  desires  to  be  remembered  to  you,  I 
have  the  honor  to  be,  with  profoundest  respect, 

Your  devoted  obedient  servant,  P.  Cullsn. 

Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn. 

P.  S. — ^In  writing  anything  do  not  refer  to  us,  as  there 
is  danger  here  of  the  daggers  of  the  assassins. 


Rome,  January  4,  1849. 
My  Lordy — I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
Lordship's  letter  of  the  21st  of  December,  and  to  return 
my  sincere  thanks  for  your  most  beautiful  pastoral  letter. 
It  is  all  that  could  be  desired.  I  am  sure  it  will  produce 
a  gi.  fiat  c^ect  both  at  home  and  abroad.  I  expect  it  shall 
be  published  very  soon,  even  in  Rome.  I  dare  say  the 
Pope  has  not  fared  so  badly  in  exile  as  I  imagined.  A^U 
the  Catholics  of  France  and  Spain  have  put  their  weaah 
at  his  disposal.  The  King  of  Naples,  too,  and  his  subjects 
have  been  most  generous,  and  His  Holiness  is  able  to  keep 
up  a  becoming  establishment.  However  it  will  be  well 
that  Ireland  in  her  poverty  should  do  something  also, 
and  that  she  should  share  in  the  merit  of  supporting  and 
restoring  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ.  Should  you  send 
anything  from  Derry,  I  will  be  most  happy  to  present 
it ;  a  bill  payable  in  London  in  my  favor  or  in  favor  of 
any  one  else,  from  the  bank  of  Ireland  or  the  bank  of 
England,  is  as  good  as  cash  here.  There  is  no  danger  in 
12» 


274 


APPENDIX. 


sending  bills,  but  it  would  be  well  to  write  immediately 
afterwards,  in  order  that  payment  might  be  stopped  if  the 
bill  went  astray.  I  would  be  glad  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  going  to  Gaeta  to  see  His  Holiness ;  so  if  I  get  any 
commission  I  will  start  immediately.  It  is  only  a  few 
miles  from  Bome,  not  more  than  eighty-five. 

Since  the  Pope  left  Rome  everything  has  been  quiet 
His  flight  quite  disconcerted  his  enemy.  The  greater 
part  of  the  State  has  declared  against  them,  and  even  in 
Rome  they  are  quite  fallen.  If  things  be  left  to  their 
natural  course,  the  very  men  who  occasioned  all  the  past 
evils  here  will  be  obliged  to  fly,  and  to  allow  the  Pope  to 
return  before  next  Easter.  The  disaffected  are  only  a 
few  thousand,  but  they  are  organized  and  stop  at  nothing. 
The  great  mass  of  them  are  strangers.  The  Romans  are 
not  accustomed  to  fighting  or  violence ;  they  do  not  know 
how  to  resist ;  they  let  themselves  be  trampled  on  by  a 
handful  of  ruffians.  However,  by  degrees  they  are  be- 
ginning to  show  a  little  courage,  and  I  trust  they  will 
soon  make  strong  demonstrations  in  favor  of  His  Holi- 
ness. I  will  write  again  in  a  few  days,  and  enter  more 
into  detals. 

I  was  sorry  to  hear  that  your  Lordship  had  suffered 
so  much  from  sickness.  If  you  could  come  to  Italy,  for 
a  few  months,  the  climate  would  restore  you  prefectly.  I 
hope  after  Easter  things  will  be  quiet.  You  could  then 
come,  and  I  am  sure  Rome  will  please  you  very  much, 
though  things  are  not  as  they  ought  to  be.  We  were 
never  molested  at  the  college,  though  we  never  concealed 
our  sentiments.  I  think  strangers  will  not  be  molested 
in  the  present  movement.    Of  course,  religious  orders, 


APPENDIX. 


276 


churches  and  church  property,  must  suffer,  but  there  is 
no  great  danger  for  strangers.  A  few  months  here  would 
take  away  every  affection  of  the  lungs. 

I  will  apply  for  the  facility  you  desire.  I  believe  it 
can  be  got  without  difficulty.  The  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties here  have  means  of  corresponding  continually  with 
His  Holiness. 

Dr.  Kirby  desires  to  present  his  best  respects  to  your 
Lordship.  Excuse  haste,  and  believe  me  to  be  with  pro- 
foundest  respect  and  veneration. 

Your  devoted  obedient  servant,  P.  Cullen. 

Bt.  Rev.  Dr.  Maginn. 


Home,  January  14,  1849. 
My  Lordf — I  write  a  few  lines  to  keep  you  aufait  of 
what  is  going  on  here.  The  city  is  still  quiet,  though 
every  one  is  living  in  alarm,  and  afraid  that  something 
serious  is  about  to  happen  every  day.  No  move  as  yet 
to  recall  the  Pope.  Those  in  power  are  circulating  all 
sorts  of  attacks  on  him.  They  have  not  been  able  to 
find  any  fault  in  him,  most  fortunately,  except  that  he 
was  too  kind-hearted.  It  is  very  difficult  to  conjecture 
how  things  will  end.  It  is  even  hard  to  explain  how 
things  stand  here.  After  the  Pope  left  Bome,  he  ap- 
pointed a  commission  to  act  for  him  during  his  ab- 
sence. The  Boman  Parliament,  or  rather  the  mob,  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  that  commission,  and  appointed  a 
Junta  to  govern  in  the  Pope's  name.  The  first  act  of 
the  Junta  was  to  dismiss  the  Parliament ;  the  ministry, 
then,  which  was  formed  by  the  Junta,  dissolved  the 


276 


APPENDIX. 


Junto,  And  assumed  the  title  of  Provisional  Govern* 
ment  They  have  convoked  a  constituent  or  national 
assembly  of  the  Pope's  states  for  the  5th  of  February, 
The  members  will  be  all  named  by  a  few  Freemasons' 
dubs,  who  sit  in  dififerent  parts.  The  people  take  no 
part  in  the  proceedings.  The  radical  faction  is  not  nu- 
merous, but  it  is  active  and  violent  The  good  people 
are  quite  broken  down,  and  appear  to  know  not  what  to 
do.  His  Holiness  has  excommunicated  all  those  who 
have  taken  part  in  convoking  the  national  assembly. 
The  excommunication  is  already  producing  some  effect. 
A  lawyer,  bj  name  Bagnoli,  who  drew  np  the  decree 
for  convoking  the  national  assembly,  the  moment  the 
news  of  the  excommunication  arrived,  got  an  apoplectic 
fit,  and  died.  An  officer  who  was  engaged  in  the  same 
business  fell  from  his  horse,  and  broke  his  skull.  If  no 
one  else  will  stir  in  defence  of  Pio  IX.,  Go'd.will  avenge 
his  cause.  There  never  was  a  Pope  more  deserving  of 
the  love  of  the  faithful,  and  perhaps  no  Pope  was  ever 
treated  with  more  ingratitude  by  his  subjects.  Things, 
however,  must  come  round  again.  They  cannot  go  on 
very  long  as  they  are.  If  His  Holiness  do  not  be  re- 
called, Bome  and  the  State  will  go  to  ruin.  There  is  at 
present  some  appearance  of  a  reaction  in  favor  of  His 
Holiness,  but  it  will  not  produce  any  great  effect  for 
some  time.  If  any  foreign  force  come,  there  will  be  no 
opposition.  Our  heroes  who  were  so  brave  against  the 
Pope,  will  fly  like  deer. 

Your  Lordship's  Pastoral  was  greatly  admired  here  by 
every  one  that  read  it  A  great  part  of  it  is  already  in 
Italian,  and  it  will  appear  next  week  in  the  only  good 


AFPKNDIX. 


277 


n 


paper  here,  the  Oonstituzionale ;  at  least  that  paper  will 
give  extracts.  So  noble  a  testimony  to  the  authority  of 
the  Holy  See  will  produce  a  great  effect  throughout  the 
world,  especially  wherever  the  English  language  is 
spoken. 

I  was  sorry  to  hear  that  it  is  difficult  to  turn  to  any 
account  the  victory  that  was  gained  in  Borne  in  the  Col- 
lege question.  A  committee  ought  to  be  formed  to  at- 
tempt the  institution  of  a  university.  Some  good  lay- 
men ought  to  be  got  to  act.  It  is  difficult  to  get  the 
clergy  to  attend  to  everything.  I  dare  say  it  would  be 
useful  to  found  a  religious  association  in  Ireland  of  lay- 
men and  clergymen,  to  attend  to  the  defence  of  religion 
and  the  Church,  to  promote  Christian  education,  and  to 
protect  the  poor.  It  should  be  purely  Catholic.  The 
Germans  have  formed  one  on  a  grand  scale,  called  the 
Association  of  Pius  IX.  Dr.  Buss,  a  layman,  who  is 
called  the  O'Connell  of  Germany,  is  at  th(y  head  of  it, 
and  it  already  counts  millions  of  associates.  A  purely 
Catholic  association  would  soon  found  a  university. 
The  experiment  of  uniting  Protestants  and  Catholics 
for  religious  purposes  can  never  succeed.  Even  in  pol- 
itics they  will  never  pull  well  together.  O'Connell  was 
generally  betrayed  by  every  Protestant  he  put  in  a  pro- 
minent position,  and  last  of  all  by  Davis,  Mitchell,  and 
Smith  O'Brien.  At  all  events,  for  religious  matters,  and 
especially  for  the  defence  of  the  liberty  of  the  Church 
and  the  safety  of  education.  Catholics  ought  to  asso- 
ciate. If  an  association  were  once  well  organized,  it 
would  soon  become  very  general.  It  would  at  least 
give  as  good  a  revenue  as  the  Association  for  the  Propa- 


278 


APPENDIX. 


gation  of  the  Faith,  and  that  would  support  a  good 
college. 

Your  Lordship  will  excuse  me  for  writing  in  a  great 
hurry,  and  troubling  you  with  those  suggestions.  Dr. 
Kirby  desires  to  be  remembered  most  particularly  to 
your  Lordship.  I  hope  your  nuns  are  getting  on  well. 
They  will  be,  when  once  well  settled,  a  great  protection 
to  religion  and  education  in  Derry.  Believe  me  to  be, 
my  dear  Lord,  with  profoundest  respect, 

Your  devoted,  obedient  servant, 

Paul  Cullen. 


1 


Qd 


iat 
)r. 
to 

ill. 
on 

36, 


AMElfDED  STATUTES  OF  THE  QUEEN'S  COLLEGES  IN 
IRELAND,  RELATING  TO  RELIGION. 

[The  following  are  the  amended  statutes,  accompany- 
ing Lord  Clarendon's  letter  of  March  19th,  1848,  to  Most 
Eev.  Dr.  Murray.] 

CHAPTER   VI. 

OF   THE  FOWERS   AND  DUTIES  OF  FROFESSORS. 

1.  Every  Professor  shall  attend  all  meetings  of  the 
Faculty  to  which  he  belongs,  and,  when  appointed  Dean 
of  Faculty,  he  shall  attend  the  meetings  of  the  College 
Council,  and  perform  all  other  duties  pertaining  to  that 
office. 

2.  He  shall  act  upon  all  committees  to  which  he  may 
be  appointed  by  the  College  Council,  or  by  the  Faculty 
of  which  he  is  a  member. 

3.  He  shall  examine  Candidates  for  Entrance,  Scholar- 
ships and  Prizes,  and  shall  assist  at  all  other  Examina- 
tions, according  to  the  appointment  of  the  College  Council. 

4.  He  shall  lecture,  teach  and  examine  his  Class,  at 
such  hours  and  for  such  periods  as  may  be  appointed  by 
the  College  Council,  and  shall  observe  punctuality  and 
diligence  in  discharging  those  duties,  and  shall  maintain 
strict  order  and  discipline  in  his  class. 

5.  Any  Professor  shall  be  permitted,  with  the  Sane- 


H 


280 


APPENDIX. 


tion  of  the  President,  to  receive  into  his  house  as  Board- 
ers, a  limited  number  of  Pupils  of  the  College. 

6.  If  any  Professor  or  assistant  shall,  in  any  lecture  or 
examination,  or  in  the  discharge  of  any  other  part  of  his 
Collegiate  duty,  teach  or  advance  any  doctrine,  or  make 
any  statement  derogatory  to  the  truths  of  Eevealed  Eeli- 
gion,  or  injurious  or  disrespectful  to  the  Keligions  con- 
victions of  any  portion  of  his  class  or  audience,  or  shall 
introduce  or  discuss  political  or  polemical  subjects  tend- 
ing to  produce  contention  or  excitement,  such  Professor 
shall  be  summoned  before  the  Council,  and  upon  suf&cient 
evidence  of  his  having  so  transgressed,  shall  be  formally 
warned  and  reprimanded  by  the  President ;  and  if  any 
such  Professor  be  guilty  of  a  repetition  of  said  or  similar 
offence,  the  President  shall  forthwith  suspend  him  from 
his  functions,  and  take  steps  officially  to  recommend  to 
the  Crown  his  removal  from  office,  as  having  transgressed 
the  statutes  of  the  College,  and  violated  his  obligations  to 
its  authorities. 

7.  Every  Professor  shall  sign  the  following  Declaration : 
*'  I.,  A.  B.,  do  hereby  promise  to  the  President  and  Council 
of  .  .  .  .  .  that  I  will  faithfully,  and  to  the  best  of  my 

ability,  discharge  the  duties  of  Professor  of in 

said  College ;  and  I  further  promise  and  engage,  that  in 
the  lectures  and  examinations,  and  in  the  performance  of 
all  other  duties  connected  with  my  chair,  I  will  carefully 
abstain  from  teaching  or  advancing  any  doctrine,  or 
making  any  statement  derogatory  to  the  truths  of  Revealed 
Religion,  or  injurious  or  disrespectful  to  the  religious 
convictions  of  any  portion  of  my  class  or  audience ;  and  I 
moreover  promise  to  the  said  President  and  Council  of 


APPENDIX. 


281 


that  I  will  not  introduce  or  discuss  in  my  place 

and  capacity  of any  subject  of  politics  or  polemics 

tending  to  produce  contention  or  excitement,  nor  will  I 
engage  in  any  avocation  which  the  President  and  Coun- 
cils shall  judge  inconsistent  with  the  respectabOity  of  my 
office ;  but  will,  as  far  as  in  me  lies,  promote,  on  all  occa- 
sions, the  interests  of  Education  and  the  welfare  of  the 
Colleges." 

CHAPTER    XVII. 


OF  PUNISHMENTS. 


Sec.  I.  Any  student  guilty  of  any  of  the  following 
offences  shall  be  liable  to  expulsion  from  the  College ; 
but  it  shall  be  competent  to  Council,  should  they 
deem  it  more  conducive  to  the  discipline  of  the  College 
and  the  reformation  of  the  offender,  to  impose  some  lighter 
punishment  for  the  same.  1.  Habitual  neglect  of  at- 
tendance on  Divine  Worship,  at  such  church  or  chapel, 
as  shall  be  approved  by  his  parent  or  guardians.  2.  Hab- 
itual neglect  of  attendance  on  the  Eeligious  Instruc- 
tion provided  for  students  of  his  church  or  denomination, 
in  the  licensed  boarding-house  in  which  he  may  reside. 
3.  Immoral  or  dishonest  practices.  4.  Treasonable  or 
seditious  conduct.  5.  Drunkenness.  6.  Grievous  offences 
against  College  rules.  7.  Wilful  and  serious  injury  to 
the  Property  of  the  College. 

Sec.  II.  For  all  offences  and  violations  of  the  statutes, 
rules  and  ordinances  of  the  College  of  a  less  grievous 
nature  than  the  preceding,  the  Council  shall  have  power 
to  inflict  such  fine  or  other  punishment  as  shall  appear  to 
them  suitable  to  the  same. 


282 


APPENDIX. 


■  :<> 


) 


'  '■■ 


Sec.  III.  Any  student  who  has  been  expelled  from  any 
of  the  Queen's  Colleges  in  Ireland,  shall  not  be  allowed 
afterwards  to  enter  or  pursue  his  studies  in  any  other  of 
the  said  Colleges. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

OF    THE   RESIDENCE    0?   STUDENTS  AND    THE   DEANS  OF   RESIDENCES. 

Seo.  I.  Every  matriculated  student,  being  under  the 
age  of  twenty- one  years,  shall  be  required  to  reside  during 
the  College  terms,  with  his  parent  or  guardian,  or  with 
some  relation  or  friend  to  whose  care  he  shall  have  been 
committed  by  his  parent  or  guardian,  or  in  a  boarding- 
house,  licensed  and  arranged  for  the  reception  of  students, 
in  the  manner  hereinafter  described. 

Sso.  II.  The  relation  or  friend  to  whose  care  a  student 
shall  have  been  committed,  shall  attend  at  the  matricula- 
tion of  the  student  to  certify  the  said  student's  place  of 
residence,  and  to  accept  the  charge  of  his  moral  and  reli- 
gious conduct. 

Sec.  III.  Every  student  intending  to  reside  in  a  licensed 
boarding-house,  shall,  at  matriculation,  produce  a  certifi- 
cate from  his  parent  or  guardian,  specifying  the  board- 
ing-house in  which  it  is  proposed  he  shall  reside. 

Seo.  IY.  The  President  shall  require  every  person  ap- 
plying for  a  license  to  keep  a  general  boarding-house,  to 
produce  a  certificate  of  moral  and  religious  character 
from  his  clergyman  or  minister,  and  shall  obtain  satis- 
factory evidence  of  the  suitableness  of  the  proposed  Es- 
tablishment, and  of  its  means  of  providing  for  tliC  health 
and  comfort  of  the  students. 

Sec.  V.  If  the  Bishop,  Moderator,  or  constituted  author- 


APPENDIX. 


283 


ity  of  any  church  or  religious  denomination,  shall  notify  to 
the  President  his  or  their  desire  that  there  shall  be  board- 
ing-houses specially  licensed  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
students  of  such  church  or  denomination,  and  shall 
specially  recommend  persons  applying  for  license  to  es- 
tablish the  same,  the  President  shall  in  every  such  case 
grant  such  license,  provided  he  shall  obtain  satisfactory 
evidence  of  the  suitableness  of  the  proposed  establishment, 
and  of  its  means  of  providing  for  the  health  and  comfort 
of  the  students. 

Sec.  VI.  In  the  case  of  collegiate  students  residing  in  a 
seminary  or  school  which  is  under  the  special  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Bishop,  Moderator,  or  the  constituted  author- 
ity of  any  church  or  religious  denomination,  the  Presi- 
dent shall,  on  receiving  a  notification  from  such  authority, 
consider  residence  in  such  a  seminary  or  school  to  cor- 
respond with  residence  in  the  house  of  a  parent  or 
guardian,  and  shall  exempt  such  seminary  or  school 
from  license  or  inspection,  but  shall  require  the  same 
attendance  at  matriculation  as  in  the  case  of,  a  student 
residing  with  his  parent  or  guardian. 

Sec.  VII.  For  the  better  maintenance  of  moral  and  re- 
ligious discipline  in  the  licensed  boarding-houses,  Deans 
of  Eesidences,  being  clergymen  or  ministers,  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  Crown,  to  whom  the  moral  care  and 
spiritual  charge  of  the  students  of  their  respective  creeds, 
residing  in  the  licensed  boarding-houses,  are  hereby 
entrusted. 

Sec.  VIII.  No  clergyman  or  minister  shall  be  compe- 
tent to  assume,  or  continue  to  hold  the  oflEice  of  Dean  of 
Residences,  unless  approved  by  the  Bishop,  moderator,  or 


284 


APPENDIX. 


constituted  authority  of  his  church  or  religious  denomina- 
tion. 

Sec.  IX.  The  Deans  of  Kesidences  shall  have  authority 
to  visit  the  licensed  boarding-houses  in  which  students 
of  their  respective  creeds  reside,  for  the  purpose  of  afford- 
ing religious  instruction  to  such  students,  and  shall  also 
have  power,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Bishop,  Modera- 
tor or  other  ecclesiastical  authority  respectively,  to  make 
regulations  for  the  observance  of  the  religious  duties  of 
such  students,  and  for  securing  their  regular  attendance 
on  divine  worship — ^such  regulations,  before  coming  into 
force,  to  be  laid  before  the  President,  in  order  to  satisfy 
him  that  the  same  shall  not  interfere  with  the  general  dis- 
cipline of  the  College. 

Sec.  X.  The  Eegistrar  shall,  at  the  commencement  of 
every  collegiate  session,  furnish  each  Dean  of  Eesidences 
with  a  list  of  the  names  and  residences  of  the  students, 
of  his  religious  persuasion,  who  may  reside  in  the  licensed 
boarding-houses. 

Sec.  XI.  Each  Dean  of  Eesidences  shall,  at  the  termin- 
ation of  every  collegiate  session,  report  to  the  President 
on  the  general  conduct  of  the  students  under  his  moral 
care  and  spiritual  charge,  in  the  licensed  boarding- 
houses,  and  on  the  manner  in  which  discipline  regarding 
such  students,  has  been  observed  in  the  several  licensed 
boarding-houses  in  which  they  may  reside. 


PASTORAL  ON  THE  POPE'S  EXILE. 

EDWARD,  BT  THE  DIVINE  MEECT  AND  THE  GRACE  OF  THE  HOLY  SEE, 
BISHOP  OF  ORTHOSIA  AMD  APOSTOLIC  ADMINISTRATOR  OF  THE  DIO- 
CESE OF  DERRT. 

To  the  Clergy  and  the  Faithful  of  the  Diocese  of  Berry — 
Greeting  and  Benediction  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I  should  have  wished,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to 
have  communed  with  you  at  a  somewhat  earlier  date, 
on  a  subject  which  so  justly  engrosses  the  attention,  and 
enlists  the  sympathies  of  every  sincere  Catholic  through- 
out Christendom.  A  severe  and  tedious  indisposition 
alone  prevented  me  from  sooner  discharging  towards 
you  this,  what  I  felt  to  be  a  pressing  and  an  imperative 
duty.  Although  the  temporal  condition  of  our  own 
unhappy  country  be  admittedly  painful  to  contemplate, 
there  is  something  still  more  painful  in  the  afflicting 
news  that  has  reached  us  from  that  city,  hitherto  the 
holy,  the  venerable,  and  the  beloved,  as  the  seat  of  reli- 
gion's throne,  the  rock  on  which  the  bark  of  Peter  was 
moored — ^the  centre  of  Catholic  unity,  hallowed  by  a 
thousand  glorious  recollections — the  sacred  repository 
of  the  mortal  vestments  of  the  Tentmaker  and  Fisher- 
man ;  yea,  still  further  consecrated  by  the  footprints  of 
millions  of  sainted  Confessors,  and  by  the  precious  relics 


286 


APPENDIX. 


: 


of  tens  of  thousands  of  Christian  martyrs.  It  was  to 
that  Christian  Jerusalem  the  eyes  of  our  old  and  young 
were  wont  to  fondly  turn,  and  their  hearts  to  exult  in 
the  beauty  of  its  tabernacles.  Thither  the  Catholic  pil- 
grim, from  every  land  on  earth,  directed  his  anxious 
steps,  to  renew  and  invigorate  his  youth  at  the  very 
source  of  the  waters  of  life,  or  to  seek  for  a  wounded 
soul  at  the  feet  of  Christ's  Vicar,  the  balm  of  peace  and 
the  word  of  reconciliation — ^the  Eternal  City,  God's  be- 
loved Sion,  "  the  bolts  of  whose  gates  he  strengthened, 
and  whose  children  he  blessed  within  it — within  whose 
borders  he  placed  peace,  filling  it  with  the  fat  of  corn, 
from  whence  he  delivered  his  word  to  Jacob — his  justices 
and  his  judgments  to  Israel" — Psahn  147 ;  that  city 
from  which,  in  a  word,  faith  was  announced  with  truth- 
ful authority,  and  missionaries  were  sent  forth  with  the 
sacred  sign  of  redemption  and  the  seal  of  a  divine  sanc- 
tion to  spread  abroad,  through  every  corner  of  the  earth, 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation — ^to  bid  those  sitting  in  the 
darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death  to  raise  their  heads 
in  hope  abo"v  e  this  valley  of  tears,  and  look  to  heaven : 
Oh  I  what  a  change,  dearly -beloved  brethren  I  that  city 
now  become  a  nest  of  vipers,  the  prey  of  the  godless 
infidel,  the  seat  of  the  bloody  anarchist,  sacred  to  assas- 
sination, blasphemy  and  sacrilege — the  palace  of  the 
supreme  Pontiff  the  object  of  a  rabble's  fury — ^his  first 
Minister,  and  his  confidential  secretary  and  friend,  the 
unpitied  victims  of  their  vengeance — the  life  of  Peter's 
successor  perilled  in  it — the  great,  the  good,  the  beloved 
!Father  of  the  Faithful  forced  from  it  into  exile,  to  seek 
elsewhere  for  himself  a  refuge,  and  for  the  Ark  of  God, 


APPENDIX. 


287 


issas- 
the 
first 
,  the 
eter's 
oved 
seek 
God, 


entrusted  to  his  holy  hands,  a  resting-place.  "  Oh,  the 
depth  of  the  councils  of  Godl  how  unsearchable  are 
his  ways,  and  how  incomprehensible  are  his  judgments  1" 
how  far  that  which  seems  good  to  men  is  removed  from 
the  views  of  God's  ever-wise  and  merciful  Providence  I 

The  fond  aspiration  of  our  hearts  would  be  to  see  vir- 
tues, such  as  distingvished  our  holy  Pontiff,  rewarded, 
even  here  below,  with  peace,  with  honor,  with  glory, 
with  the  heartfelt  homage  of  children  and  of  subjects, 
obedient  to  the  best  of  Fathers  and  Sovereigns. 

Such,  however,  dearly-beloved  brethren,  is  not  gene- 
rally the  way  in  which  God  deals  with  his  elect.  The 
just  and  the  good,  of  course,  he  leads  by  the  hand  to 
their  glorious  destination,  but  their  pathway  to  it  he 
strews  with  thorns ;  to  reach  the  Thabor  of  his  perma- 
nent glory,  they  must  carry  their  cross  up  the  narrow, 
rugged  heights  of  Calvary  ;  and,  even  should  they  find 
in  their  way,  scattered  here  and  there,  a  few  flowers  of 
joy,  they  must  gather  them  with  a  trembling  hand  from 
amidst  the  many  thorns  that  surround  them.  Theirs  is 
only  a  transient,  momentary  happiness,  like  the  fleeting 
vision  of  the  transfiguration,  or  like 

"  The  dewdrop  that,  glittering  on  the  thorn, 
Goes  at  the  touch,  and  flies  before  the  morn." 

In  the  past  brief  triumphs  and  present  humiliations  of 
our  beloved  and  venerable  Pontiff,  we  see,  dearly-be- 
loved brethren,  the  same  finger  of  Providence  that  man- 
ifested itself  in  the  life  of  our  Divine  Redeemer,  whose 
Vicar  he  is.  He  also  heard,  on  the  commencement  of 
his  mission,  this  cry  of  seemingly  warm  affection — 


288 


APPKNDIX. 


"  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bore  thee,  and  blessed  are 
the  breasts  that  suckled  thee" — he  saw  the  pressing  anx- 
iety of  the  multitude  to  crown  him  King  of  Juda  and 
of  Israel — ^him  who  already  seemed  to  reign  in  their 
hearts.  Babes  and  sucklings  gave  him  praise — the  gar> 
ments  of  the  people  were  spread  before  him  to  do  him 
honor — the  palm,  the  emblem  of  victory,  and  the  olive, 
the  symbol  of  abundance  and  peace,  strewed  his  path- 
way, and  the  air  was  rent  with  hosannas  to  the  Son  of 
David,  with  blessings  upon  him  that  came  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  But  amidst  this  scene  of  tumultuous  joy, 
the  Saviour  was  seen  weeping,  for  well  he  knew  the  hol- 
low fickleness  of  all  human  applause — that  all  human 
triumphs  were  but  day-dreams,  that  end  in  tears — that 
they  who  spread  their  garments  for  him  would  shortly 
strip  him  of  his  own — that  of  the  palm  branches  they 
were  already  forming  a  cross  for  him,  and  that,  instead 
of  the  olive  of  gladness  and  of  peace,  they  would  very 
soon  administer  to  him  vinegar  and  gall,  and  that  their 
hosannas,  in  fine,  to  the  Son  of  David,  would  be  changed, 
before  a  week  had  passed,  into  "  Away  with  him,  away 
with  him — crucify  him,  crucify  him."  Hence  he  wept, 
letting  us  understand  that  the  real  triumph  of  justice  is 
in  suffering,  and  its  unfading  crown  only  in  a  virtuous 
death.  How  striking,  dearly-beloved  brethren,  the  par- 
allel between  our  Divine  Redeemer  and  his  holy  Pontiff. 
His  election  to  the  Chair  of  Peter  and  the  sovereignty 
of  Bome  was  unanimous.  The  citizens  leaped  with  joy, 
and  hailed  their  new-made  sovereign  with  vivas — they 
spread  their  garments  on  the  ground  to  honor  him — they 
wang  their  hosannahs  to  him — they  blessed  him  as  a  Sa- 


\i 


APPENDIX. 


289 


luman 
—that 
hortly 
3  they 
DStead 
very 
their 
nged, 
away 
wept, 
tice  is 
tuous 
e  par- 
ontiff. 
ignty 

a  joy. 

-they 
they 
a  Sa- 


viour coming  to  them  to  redeem  the  captive,  and  to  se^ 
the  bondsman  free — ^bouquets  of  flowers  covered  his 
pathway,  and  there  was  no  end  to  their  rejoicings.  Like 
his  Divine  Master,  he  passed  amidst  them  doing  good, 
heaping  upon  them  benefactions — striking  the  chain 
from  the  limb  of  the  prisoner — ^restoring  to  disconsolate 
parents  their  lost  children — ^proclaiming  a  universal  ju- 
bilee of  deliverance.  None  like  the  just  and  the  good 
Pio  Nono — the  womb  was  blessed  tnat  bore  him,  and 
the  breasts  thrice  blessed  that  suckled  him — he  alone 
was  fit  to  reign  over  the  Boman  people — the  great  apos- 
tle of  law  revived,  of  order  restored,  and  the  great  high 
Priest  of  liberty — the  resurrection,  in  fine,  and  the  very 
life  of  Bome.  This,  dearly-beloved  brethren,  was  the 
world's  forced  tribute  of  transcendent  beneficence  and 
rectitude.  Let  us  now  see  its  inherent  natural  hatred  of 
both.  Its  testimony  to  virtue  is  ever  constrained,  hol- 
low and  fleeting ;  its  detestation  of  it  real,  spontaneous 
and  permanent ;  for  in  it  it  sees  its  own  condemnation. 
It  was  this  feeling  in  Cain  that  made  him  murder  Abel, 
because  he  was  innocent — that  in  Cham  mocked  the 
best  of  fathers — that  made  Lot  hostile  to  Abraham,  his 
kinsman  and  benefactor — and  made  Esau's  hatred  of 
Jacob  almost  immortal ;  the  same  that  induced  Joseph's 
brethren  to  coolly  plan  his  murder,  to  cast  him  into  a 
pit,  and  afterwards  sell  him  to  the  merchants  of  Idumea 
— ^the  same  that  made  Egypt  detest  Israel,  and  enslave 
it  and  pursue  it  to  the  death — the  same  that  stirred  up 
the  thirty  and  one  kings  against  God's  people  in  the 
desert,  and  made  Core  and  his  followers  conspire  against 
Aaron  and  Moses — the  same  that  made  Saul  furious 

13 


290 


APPENDIX* 


against  David,  and  Absolam  a  traitor  to  bis  own  father 
^-that  cast  Daniel  into  the  lions'  den,  and  into  the  fiery 
furnace — that  made  Haman  abominate  a  Mordecai,  and 
sigh  for  his  destruction,  and  that  of  his  race — the  same 
that  covered  a  Jezebel  and  an  Athalia  with  the  blood 
of  the  Priests  and  Prophets  of  the  true  God,  and  made 
them  the  rabid  enemies  of  his  saints  and  holy  temple — 
that  made  Elias  a  fugitive,  Jeremias  a  martyr,  and  pre- 
pared the  pincers  and  heated  the  gridiron  for  the  youthful 
heroic  Machabees  and  their  devoted  mother — the  same 
(latred  of  justice  shed  the  blood  of  the  Holy  Innocents, 
placed  the  Baptist's  head  in  a  dish,  preferred  a  Barabbas 
to  a  Jesus,  and  nailed  essential  justice  to  a  gibbet.  This 
world-wide  hatred  of  justice  has  filled  our  calendar  with 
Christian  martyrs,  persecuted  everywhere  the  children 
and  the  Church  of  God — made  those  whom  God  loved 
and  angels  looked  upon  with  admiration,  objects  of  ig- 
nominy and  reproach — drugged  their  cup  with  gall  and 
wormwood — yea,  gloried  in  their  misery  and  utter  de- 
struction. This  spirit  of  the  world  has  been  lately  at 
its  wicked  work  in  Eome,  apotheosizing  the  assassination 
of  the  innocent,  desecrating  whatever  was  there  holy 
and  venerable,  and  making  Pius  IX.  first  its  captive,  and 
then  an  exile  I  Oh  beloved  PoutiiJ"!  your  benignity, 
your  truthfulness,  your  piety,  your  justice,  were  your 
only  crimes.  Because  you  were  truthful,  meek  and 
just,  you  are  now  an  outcast;  "because  thou  wert  beau- 
tiful in  virtue  beyond  the  sons  of  men — because  grace 
was  poured  abroad  by  God  on  thy  lips,  and  God  had 
abundantly  blessed  thee — because  the  sceptre  of  thy 
kingdom  was  truly  a  sceptre  of  uprightness — ^because,  in 


APPENDIX. 


201 


a  word,  thou  hadst  loved  equity  and  hated  iniquity, 
therefore  it  is  that  "  tliey  that  sat  in  the  gate  spoko 
against  thee,  and  they  that  drank  wine  made  their  song 
of  thee ;"  therefore  it  is  that  "  thou  art  become  a  stran- 
ger to  thy  brethren,  and  an  alien  to  the  sons  of  thy 
mother  1"  Rome,  such  as  it  now  is,  venerable  Pontiff, 
was  not  worthy  of  thee,  neither  was  the  world.  Exile, 
however,  as  thou  art,  betrayed,  deserted  by  those  whom 
you  loved,  whom  you  blessed,  and  loaded  with  benefac- 
tions, thou  wilt  not  be  alone  in  thy  exile.  No;  the 
hearts  and  souls  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  thy  faithful 
children  in  the  world,  but  not  of  it,  shall  cluster  around 
thee,  and  comfort  thee  with  their  prayers,  their  tears 
and  their  sympathies.  Thou  art  not  a  solitary  exile, 
illustrious  Pontiff;  the  angels  of  God  are  around  thee ; 
God  is  with  thee — "  the  ark  of  God  and  the  people  of 
Israel."  The  true  Catholics  of  the  earth  are  emuMus  to 
give  thee  a  reception  worthy  of  thee.  The  Queen  of 
Catholicity — ^noble  France — hailed  thee  afar,  and  sent 
her  enthusiastic  hosts  to  defend  thee  against  the  infidel 
faction  that  assailed  thee.  Spain  pants  for  the  honor  of 
having  with  her  her  Catholic  Pontiff,  Naples  displays 
the  riches  of  her  household  to  allure  thee  to  her  palaces ; 
under  the  shadow  of  the  wings  of  the  American  eagle, 
a  safe,  a  generous  asylum  would  be  afforded  thee.  And 
oh  I  if  thy  faithful  Catholic  Ireland,  wounded  though 
she  be  by  misery,  and  bruised  from  the  top  of  the  head 
to  the  sole  of  the  foot  by  oppression,  could  promise  her- 
self the  bliss  which  all  so  ardently  ambition,  how  her 
heart  would  bound  within  her  at  the  bare  thought  of 
such  happiness,  how,  in  one  sight  of  thee,  would  she 


292 


APPENDIX. 


forget  the  persecutions  and  tribulations  of  centuries, 
with  what  rapturous  joy  would  she  exult  in  thy  coming, 
with  what  eagerness  would  not  her  children  press  around 
thee,  and  bathe  with  the  tears  of  sympathy  and  filial 
affection,  the  fleet  of  the  ever  to  them  faithful  Vicar  of 
Jesus  I  Venerable,  beloved  Pontiff  1  Catholic  Ireland 
owes  thee  much.  In  the  hour  of  her  distress  the  little 
you  had  to  spare  was  at  her  service.  You  appealed  to 
the  Catholic  world  in  behalf  of  her  wrongs  and  her 
sufferings ;  you  appealed  not  in  vain ;  she  had  its  pity 
and  its  aid.  Oh,  if  she  had  thee  here  to  manifest  the 
gratitude  that  fills  her  heart,  and  the  deep  devotion  she 
still  bears  to  Peter's  successor  and  Christ's  representa- 
tive on  earth,  perhaps  in  this  "  land  of  the  West"  she 
would  make  thee  forget,  for  a  moment,  in  the  vigor  and 
freshness  of  her  faith  and  love,  the  ingratitude  of  thy 
own  base  people. 

Among  us.  Venerable  Pontiff,  there  are  still  attractions 
for  you  beyond  those  of  the  richest  and  the  happiest 
lands  on  earth ;  hearts  still  purely  Catholic — souls  guile- 
less in  their  Christian  simplicity — a  fidelity  that  has 
weathered  every  storm,  and  remained  immovably  at- 
tached to  the  Chair  of  Peter — hope  full  of  immortality, 
and  the  true  spirit  of  the  Communion  of  Saints,  to  make 
thy  wrongs,  thy  sufferings,  thy  tears,  thy  joys,  its  own. 
But,  should  this  happiness  be  denied  us,  wherever  thou 
art  we  shall  Be  with  thee.  Our  souls,  our  hearts,  our 
sympathies,  shall  be  with  thee,  and  whatever  the  rapacity 
of  our  oppressors  has  left  us  shall  be  generally  shared 
with  thee — still  dearer  to  us,  in  thy  exile,  than  when 
crowned  with  the  Tiara  in  thy  capital — more  interesting 


APPENDIX. 


293 


in  thy  humiliations  than  when  triumphing  amidst  the 
plaudits  of  thy  fickle,  faithless  people ;  and  if  thy  cover- 
ing, like  the  Ark  of  God,  were  the  goat-skin,  thou  wouldst 
still  be  to  us  an  object  of  deeper  love  and  sympathy,  of 
more  sincere  devotion  in  this  humble  dress  of  the  pilgrim 
Yicar  than  when  shrouded  with  all  the  glory  of  the 
Quirinal ;  for  the  ignominy  of  a  Calvary  is  ever  dearer 
to  the  Catholic  Christian's  memory  than  a  Thabor's  glory. 
The  one  we  passingly  admire,  the  other,  Jesus  in  agony, 
Jesus  crucified,  we  ever  love  to  look  upon,  and  their 
sweet  memorials  we  ever  bind  to  our  hearts  and  to  our 
memories. 

We  give  glory  to  God  for  you,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
that  you  stand  not  in  need  of  any  exhortation  from  us 
to  be,  amidst  these  visitations,  steadfast  in  your  Faith — 
you,  the  children  of  tribulation,  who  have  drunk  of  the 
darkest,  muddiest,  cup  of  human  misery,  even  to  the 
dregs,  without  being  moved  from  the  broad  platform  of 
belief  in  which  God  in  his  mercy  has  placed  you.  In 
the  world's  worst  evils,  you  see  the  finger  of  God  who 
permits  them  to  afilict  his  children,  to  bring  them  to  re- 
pentance, or  to  try  them  by  suffering,  that  they  may 
receive  the  promise  of  those  who  change  not  their  love 
from  him.  Everlasting  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  the 
God  that  has  preserved  to  you  this  jewel  with  which  you 
prefer  to  be  afflicted,  with  the  people  of  God,  rather  than 
have  the  pleasure  of  sin  for  a  time — ^with  which  you 
esteem  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  all  the 
treasures  of  the  Egyptians — with  which  you  feared  not 
the  fierceness  of  kings  or  rulers,  but  learned  to  endure 
all  things  for  the  sake  of  that  King  who  is  invisible. 


APPENDIX. 

With  this  faith  of  yours  (for  it  is  a  blessed  inheritance) 
your  forefathers  have  conquered  kingdoms,  wrought 
justice,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  blunted  the  edge  of  the 
sword  of  the  persecutor,  recovered  strength  from  weak- 
ness, valor  from  the  conflict,  spread  confusion  among  the 
armies  of  foreigners,  were  racked,  not  accepting  deliver- 
ance, that  they  might  find  a  better  resurrection,  had, 
moreover,  like  you,  yea  more  than  you,  their  trials,  of 
mockeries  and  stripes,  of  bonds  and  prisons — ^were  stoned, 
were  cut  asunder,  were  tempted,  were  put  to  death  by  the 
sword,  by  the  gallows,  by  famine,  by  pestilence,  and  a  thou- 
sand wickedly  and  cunningly  devised  tortures — "  wan- 
dered about  in  sheepskins,  in  goatskins,  in  want,  distress, 
affliction — of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy — wandered 
in  deserts,  in  mountains,  and  dens,  and  in  the  caves  of 
the  earth,  and  still  were  approved  in  ail  these  things  by 
the  testimony  of  this  faith."  To  you,  the  children  of 
these  saints  and  martyrs,  doubt,  hesitation  and  despond- 
ency, are  unfamiliar  words.  The  more  the  world  be- 
comes a  desert  to  you,  the  nearer  the  Land  of  Promise 
appears.  You  know  and  feel  that  the  more  the  child  of 
faith  is  abandoned  by  men,  the  more  securely  he  leans 
on  the  arm  of  God — "  loeva  ejus  sub  ca/pite  meo  ei  dextera 
ejus  ampJexahitur  Twe"— that  the  left  hand  of  God  sustains 
your  head,  while  with  his  right  he  embraces  you.  You 
know  that  the  Ark  of  the  Most  High  is  never  half  so 
terrible,  nor  half  so  wonder-working,  as  when  Philisthiim 
would  bind  it  in  captive  chains,  or  seem  to  triumph  over 
its  destitution  and  loneliness. 

For  the  person  of  His  Holiness — a  person  so  dear  to 


APPENDIX. 


295 


US  all — ^we  can  justly  entertaic  our  fears ;  for  the  succes- 
sion to  the  Chair  of  Peter,  or  for  the  Catholic  Church, 
we  can  have  no  terrors.  These  are  secure  in  *he  promises 
of  God.  The  Balaams  and  the  Hananiases,  may  see  their 
visions  and  prophecy  the  downfall  of  both ;  they  may 
run,  though  they  be  not  sent,  and  predict,  though  never 
spoken  to.  In  their  blindness  or  their  malice  they  may 
clap  their  hands  with  joy,  and  exult  over  the  impending 
ruin  of  Popery,  foolishly  believing  its  destruction  to  be 
consequent  on  the  exile  of  its  Pontiff.  How  often  have 
not  such  prophets  Tittered  this  self-same  vain  thing,  and 
made  themselves  wickedly  ridiculous  to  the  faithful  ?  A 
prophet  of'  this  sort  was  not  wanting  any  year  for  the 
last  eighteen  hundred.  No  doubt,  in  the  very  days  of 
the  Apostles,  while  yet  the  Eedeemer's  blood  shed  for 
his  spouse  was  warm  on  the  earth.  Hymeneus  and 
Alexander  prophecied  in  this  way,  and  that  the  echo  of 
their  predictions  was  taken  up  and  repeated  by  an  Ebion, 
a  Marcion,  and  a  Carpocrates.  Novatian  and  Arius  were, 
of  course,  among  the  major  prophets  of  this  sort.  Tlie 
predictions  thundered  forth  by  Manes  were  taken  up  by 
Vigilantius  and  ^rius,  and  chorused  again  by  Peter  De 
Brus,  by  Yaldo,  John  Huss,  Wickliffo,  &c.,  &c,,  &c. 

But  woe  to  them,  if  they  spoke  the  truth !  The  awful 
day  of  their  reckoning  would  have  been  at  hand — the 
sun  and  moon  would  have  refused  their  light — earth  and 
Heaven  would  have  passed  away,  and  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  clothed  in  majesty,  with  that  triumphant  and  im- 
mortal which  they  would  have  extinct,  had  jndged  them 
on  their  temerity.  No,  dearly -beloved  brethren,  the 
permanency  of  the  Chair  of  Peter,  or  of  the  Church  of 


296 


APPENDIX. 


God,  does  not  depend  on  the  imprisonment,  the  exile,  or 
the  death  of  any  Pope ;  for,  if  so,  they  had  long  since 
perished.  Peter  was  imprisoned,  yet  his  chair  did  not 
perish,  nor  the  Church  built  upon  him.  Liberius,  in 
consequence  of  his  faith  in  Christ's  divinity,  was  made 
both  a  prisoner  and  an  exile ;  Silverius  was  imprisoned 
by  a  wicked  Empress,  and  twice  exiled — ^first,  into  Lycia, 
secondly,  into  the  Isle  of  Palmaria,  where  he  expired  of 
hunger,  A.D.  538,*  and  yet  neither  the  Church  nor  the 
Chair  of  Peter  perished.  Martin  I.  went  through  an 
almost  similar  career  of  suffering — St.  Gregory  VII.,  the 
glorious  prototype  of  our  present  beloved  Pontiff,  died  in 
exile,  with  that  immortal  saying  upon  his  lips — "  I  loved 
justice,  and  hated  iniquity;  and  therefore  I  die  in  a 
strange  land."  Pius  VI.  died  an  exil  j,  and  oh  I  what  a 
beautiful  death,  precious  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  ever 
precious  in  the  eyes  of  the  Church  I  It  was  he  that  left 
us  these  sweet  Christian  sentiments,  uttered  in  the  day 
of  his  agony — sentiments  so  becoming  the  Vicar  of  Christ* 
and  so  glorious  to  our  common  faith — "  The  crown  of 
martyrdom  (said  he)  is  more  brilliant  than  the  tiara.  My 
afflictions  encourage  me  to  hope  that  I  am  not  altogether 
unworthy  of  being  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  Vicar 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  situation  in  which  you  behold  me, 
recalls  to  our  mind  the  early  ages  of  the  Church,  which 
were  the  days  of  her  triumphs.  All  in  this  world  is 
vanity ;  let  us  raise  our  eyes  to  Heaven  where  thrones 
are  prepared  for  us,  of  which  men  cannot  deprive  us." 
When,  after  receiving  the  Viaticum,  he  was  asked  did 
he  forgive  his  enemies — "Yes,"  said  he,  fixing  his  eyes 

•  Feller's  Biography. 


APPENDIX. 


297 


» 


on  the  crucifix,  "  with  all  my  heart."*  He  died  in  exile ; 
but  the  chair  and  barque  of  Peter  survived  him,  and 
triumphed  in  this  glorious  exhibition  of  fortitude,  resigna- 
tion and  charity.  Pius  VII.  was  also  an  exile,  and  the 
prisoner  of  the  man  of  a  thousand  thrones,  who  strewed 
the  earth  with  millions  of  dead.  The  eagle  of  his  glory, 
that  hitherto  had  ever  gazed  on  the  oriflame  of  victory, 
from  that  hour  drooped  its  bloody  wing,  and  ignominious- 
ly  decending  to  the  earth,  was  trailed  through  the  dust, 
and  as  a  vile  thing  trampled  upon  even  by  those  who 
were  wont  to  tremble  at  the  bare  sight  of  its  soaring. 
Thirty  PopeSj  all  down  to  Sylvester  I.,  one  excepted, 
suffered  martyrdom ;  and  Peter,  the  first  of  the  Pontiffs, 
was  crucified  with  his  head  downwards,  the  choice  of  his 
humility,  setting  this  bright  example,  that  he  who  under 
Christ  was  first  in  honor  and  in  jurisdiction,  should  be 
first  in  fidelity  and  humiliations,  instructing  his  successors, 
even  in  death,  that  the  cross  of  their  Lord  was  their  proper 
inheritance,  and  their  noblest  triumphs  in  suffering  for  him. 
The  present  storm,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  is  merely 
as  the  zephyr,  when  compared  with  the  tempests  let 
loose  at  various  times  for  the  last  eighteen  hundred  years 
on  the  Church  of  God.  During  the  pontificate  of  Felix 
III.,  the  Emperor  Anastasius  was  a  Eutychian  heretic — 
the  kings  of  Italy,  Spain  and  Africa,  were  Arians,  blas- 
phemously denying  the  consubstantiality  of  the  Word, 
and  furiously  persecuting  all  who  believed  in  it.  The 
kings  of  the  Franks,  of  the  English,  of  the  Germans,  were 
Pagans ;  and  yet  the  Church,  though  she  had  not  a  single 
sceptre  to  defend  her,  nor  a  loyal  arm  to  sustain  and 

•  Pigot's  Ecc.  An. 


298 


APPKNDIX. 


nnrse  her,  but  all  on  every  side  hei  enemies,  did  not 
perish.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  a  thousand  prophets, 
with  the  tongues  of  Babel,  predicted  the  Church's  im- 
mediate downfall,  and  used  every  weapon  which  malignity 
could  suggest,  or  rather  fury  supply,  to  realize  their 
own  predictions.  The  battle  was  fierce  and  prolonged. 
Hell  resorted  to  its  whole  armoury  to  make  its  prophets 
for  once  truthful.  How  far  it  succeeded,  let  our  enemies 
and  their  friends  be  the  witnesses.  "  It  was  at  the  mo- 
ment," says  an  eminent  biv-^^^apher *  "when  Protestant- 
ism sat  in  triumph  on  the  ruins  of  the  Catholic  altars  and 
temples,  subverted  by  it  throughout  the  greater  parts  of 
Europe,  and  when  it  flattered  itself  that  it  was  assisting 
at  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church, 
that  that  Church  manifested  a  superabundance  of  life, 
and  displayed  immense  renovated  energies.  In  Italy, 
France  and  Spain,  fifty-nine  new  orders  sprang  into  ex- 
istence, for  purposes  of  education,  instruction,  and  bene- 
ficence, and  applied  to  the  service  of  the  Church  all  their 
available  powers ;  and  thereby  insensibly  secured  the 
allegiance  of  future  generations.  What  glorious  form*  I 
see  rising  up  before  me :  the  Borromeos,  the  Ignatiuses 
the  Xaviers,  the  De  Sales,  the  Paalos  Giustiani,  the 
Gsetanos  de  Thiene,  the  Peter  Caraffas,  the  Eomillons, 
the  Berulles,  the  Philips  of  Neri,  the  Hugo  Menards,  the 
Johns  of  God,  the  Bellarmins,  the  Baroniuses,  the  Vin- 
cents of  Paul,  &c.  Further  on,  we  see  that  magnificent 
Catholic  structure  raised  up  in  South  America,  where 
conquest  became  a  mission,  and  this  mission  Christian 
civilization.    We  see  at  Goa,  in  1665,  three  hundred 

*  Ranke's  Papacy. 


APPENDIX. 


299 


thousand  Catholic  converts,  the  first  fruit  of  its  conquest ; 
at  Japan,  in  1579,  three  hundred  thousand  Christian 
converts ;  in  1606,  three  hundred  churches,  and  thirty 
Jesuitical  institutions,  founded  by  Father  Valignagno, 
and  all  this  in  the  face  of  the  most  bloody  persecutions. 
From  the  year  1603  till  1622,  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-nine  additional 
Japanese  converted.  The  first  Catholic  Church  conse- 
crated at  Nankin,  in  China,  after  the  death  of  the  cele- 
brated Father  Ricci,  who  always  gave  mathematical  as  a 
preface  to  his  religious  instruction.  In  1616,  we  see 
Christian  Churches  everywhere  raised  throughout  the 
five  provinces  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  and  attended  by 
millions  of  converts.  We,  moreover,  see  seventy  Brah- 
mins converted  by  Father  Nobili ;  three  Princes  of  the 
Imperial  family  of  Akbar  converted  by  Jerome  Xavier, 
at  the  Court  of  the  Great  Mogul ;  the  Nestorians  restored 
to  unity ;  in  Abyssinia,  Sela  Christos,  brother  of  the 
Emperor,  and  then  the  Emperor  Seltan  Segueld. 

"At  the  Roman  Court,  the  men  of  that  day,  whether 
politicians,  poets,  artists,  &c.,  &c.,  had  all  the  same  char- 
acter of  religious  austerity.  The  Church  touched  and 
reanimated  with  its  breath  all  the  extinct  and  corrupted 
faculties  of  life,  and  gave  to  the  world  quite  a  new  com- 
plexion. What  immense  activity  I  Rome,  enfolding 
the  entire  world,  penetrating,  at  the  same  time,  the  Indies 
and  the  Alps — sending  forth  its  representatives  and  de- 
fenders at  the  same  to  Thibet,  and  Scandinavia ;  and, 
through  this  boundless  scene,  everywhere  youthful,  ener- 
getic, indefatigable,  making  the  impelling  active  principle 
of  the  centre  to  bear  perhaps  with  more  intensity  and 
effect  on  its  agents  in  the  most  distant  countries." 


800 


APPENDIX. 


This  is  substantially  the  testimony  of  Protestant  Banke. 
But  few  signs  of  dissolution,  beloved  brethren,  in  those 
eventful  times.  The  Prophets  were  at  fault  here  as  else- 
where. How  the  infidel  conspiracy  of  more  modern  days 
ended  is  known  to  all.  France,  that  immolated  her 
thousands  of  Priests  to  the  goddess  of  reason  and  turpi- 
tude, and  sent  sixty-two  thousand  into  exile,  is  now  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  and  attached  jewels  in  the  Pope  s 
tiara.  The  recent  conspiracy,  also  an  infidel  one,  will, 
we  firmly  trust  in  God,  have  a  similar  result.  The  storm 
may  carry  away  some  of  the  withered  branches  and 
shrivelled  useless  foliage,  to  leave  the  stem  with  its 
original  sap,  and  the  remaining  branches  with  additional 
shoots  still  more  healthful  and  luxuriant.  The  cry,  "  The 
Church  ^  in  danger,"  never  yet  proceeded  from  sincere 
Catholic 'lips.  There  can  be  no  danger  for  the  Church, 
unless  God  and  His  promises  be  in  danger.  The  heavens 
and  the  earth  shall  pass  away,  and  even  after  they  shall 
have  passed,  our  Chu  rch  will  not  be  even  then  in  danger 
but  in  her  eternal  home  triumphant,  divested  of  her  pil- 
grim's dress,  and  in  the  renovated  beauty  of  glorious 
life  immortal,  will  stand  at  the  right  hand  of  her  bride- 
groom robed  in  gold,  and  decorated  with  every  orna- 
mental variety.  In  this  position  the  Prophet  saw  her 
when  he  exclaimed — "  Astitit  regina  a  dexteris  €)tis  cir- 
cumdata  vanetatey  In  every  year  and,  day,  until  this 
blissful  consummation,  individuals  in  the  Church  will, 
of  course,  be  in  danger,  and  kingdoms  and  peoples,  who 
have  received  the  gift  of  faith,  will  be  in  danger  of  losing, 
through  their  own  perverseness,  that  precious  boon  of 
heaven.  But,  if  they  be  cast  by  the  wrath  of  God  into 
the  sinks  and  sewers  of  the  City  of  Sion,  like  all  foul 


APPENDIX. 


801 


and  fetid  things,  to  be  carried  out  of  it,  it  will  be  because  hj 
being  allowed  to  remain  within  it  they  would  have  spread 
abroad  infection  and  corruption,  and  by  their  own  turpi- 
tude have  themselves  perished  in  it — "  Non  ex  aim  horn- 
inihus  fiunt  hcBretici  quam  ex  lis  qui  si  in  Ecclesia  perman- 
sissent  propter  vitce  turpitudinem  nihibminus  ptriissenV^ — 
Saint  AugustiUy  Liber  8,  de  Vera  Beligione. 

Of  the  Church,  therefore,  dearly -beloved  brethren, 
you  rest  assured  that  the  God  that  launched  her  on  the 
sea  of  this  world  may  allow  her  to  be  tempest-tossed, 
but  never  to  perish,  for  he  himself  has  promised  to  be 
her  pilot,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  thee  all  days,  even  to  the  con- 
summation of  the  world."  In  the  midst  of  her  he  has 
planted  his  own  trophy — erected  against  death  his  own 
triumphant  standard  of  Eedemption.  The  prow  of  this 
noble  mechanism  of  God  is  the  East,  its  stern  the  West, 
its  midships  the  South  and  North ;  the  ropes  stretched 
about  it  are  the  love  of  Christ,  its  cement  the  spirit  of 
unity,  which  holds  fast  and  binds  together  its  every  tim- 
ber ;  the  net  which  it  carries  is  the  laver  of  regenera- 
tion ;  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  wind  that  fills  the  sails,  and 
impels  it  onward ;  its  anchors  are  of  iron,  strong,  endur- 
ing, irresistible,  the  promises  of  Christ — its  destination 
the  Ararat  of  God's  glory.  The  sky  may  become  dense 
with  clouds,  and  cast  its  pitchy  darkness  around  it; 
Christ  Jesus  is  its  light  and  its  guide.  Heaven's  cata- 
racts may  break  upon  it,  and  the  waters  of  the  abyss 
ascend  to  meet  the  floods  of  heaven — the  deeper  the  tor- 
rent the  more  elevated  the  ark  of  God ;  over  the  whirl- 
ing, foaming  eddies  she  rides  triumphant,  "still  onward 
inscribed  in  letters  of  gold  upon  her  prow — the  fury  of 


..^ 


802 


APPENDIX. 


the  elements  making  her  triumph  still  more  conspicuous 
— her  seeming  solitude  on  the  deep  rendering  her  passage 
still  more  secure,  as  it  is  then  she  can  say  with  confi- 
dence, "  God  is  my  protector."  "  The  Church,"  says  St. 
Ambrose,*  is  buffeted,  but  is  not  overwhelmed  by  the 
waves  of  worldly  cares ;  she  is  stricken,  but  is  not  weak- 
ened, being  easily  able  to  subdue  and  calm  down  the 
agitation  of  the  waves,  and  the  rebellion  of  the  passions 
of  the  body;  she  looks  on,  herself  free  and  exempt 
from  danger,  whilst  others  are  shipwrecked,  always  pre- 
pared to  have  Christ  shine  upon  her,  and  to  derive  glad- 
ness from  his  light."  There  is  nothing,"  says  St.  Chry- 
sostom,t  "  equal  to  the  Church.  Tell  me  not  of  walls 
and  arms,  for  walls  grow  old  with  time,  but  the  Church 
never  grows  old;  walls  barbarians  destroy,  h'Tt  the 
Church  not  even  demons  can  overcome.  And  that  my 
words  are  not  empty  boasting,  facts  testify.  How  many 
have  waged  war  against  the  Church,  and  they  that 
warred  against  her  have  perished,  but  she  has  been 
raised  up  above  the  heavens.  Such  is  the  mightiness  of 
the  Church;  warred  against  she  conquers,  devised 
against,  she  overcomes ;  assailed  with  insult,  she  is  made 
more  resplendent ;  she  receives  wounds,  but  sinks  not 
beneath  the  ulcer ;  agitated  by  the  waves,  she  is  not  sub- 
merged ;  tempest-tossed,  but  she  suffers  no  shipwreck ; 
wrestles,  but  is  not  overthrown ;  she  fights  as  the  pu- 
gilist, but  is  not  beaten.  Why,  then,  has  God  permitted 
the  contest  ?    That  he  may  exhibit  a  more  glorious  tro- 


*  St.  Ambrose,  torn.  I.,  de  Abraham,  s.  2,  o.  3,  no.  11,  p.  318. 
t  St  Chrysostom,  torn.  3,  de  Capto  Eutropio,  no.  1,  p.  461. 


APPENDIX. 


808 


phy."  Let  others,  therefore,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
sit,  if  they  please,  exultingly,  like  Jonas  in  the  shade  of 
their  own  ivy — the  ivy  of  their  own  planting;  let 
others,  like  Elias,  delight  in  the  shadow  of  their  juniper- 
tree  ;  let  others  have  their  favorite  oak,  planted  for  them 
by  royal  hands,  and  flourished  by  the  base  alloy  of 
royal  passions;  let  others  have  whatever  protecting 
shade  fancy  may  make  desirable,  ours  shall  ever  be  se- 
cure repose  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  Chair  of  Peter, 
and  within  the  hold  of  that  bark  which  God  built ;  for 
"  wherever  Peter  is,  there  the  Church  is ;  where  the 
Church  is,  there  death  is  not,  but  life  eternal ;  "  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it,"  vhi  Petrus  ibi  EccU' 
sia  ;  vhi  Ecclesia  ibi  nulla  more  sed  vita  cetema ;  portoi  in- 
feri  non  prceval^unt  ei;  caelum  aperuit^  inferos  clauset. 

Wherefore,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  without  further 
notice  of  the  vain  effusions  of  our  modern  Prophets,  let 
us  return  to  our  illustrious  Pontiff,  whose  situation 
should  now  be  the  chief  object  of  our  solicitude.  The 
Church  is  suffering  in  its  glorious  head.  Every  member 
of  the  mystic  body  must  feel  the  obligations  which 
Christian  duty,  in  such  circumstances,  imposes  upon  hira. 
"  "Who  is  sick,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  that  I  am  not  infirm — 
who  burns  that  I  am  not  on  fire?"  The  head,  the  heart 
of  the  Church  of  God  is  sick,  infirm  in  the  fiery  ordeal 
of  tribulation  and  sorrow.  His  pain  must  have  passed 
to  us  all ;  for  if  the  afflictions  of  the  least  of  the  little 
ones  of  God  should  so  deeply  interest  us,  and  claim  our 
warmest  sympathies,  how  much  more  so  the  sorrows  of 
the  father  of  the  faithful,  the  successor  of  Saint  Peter, 
and  the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  on  earth  ?    In  all  such 


ao4 


APPENDIX. 


calamities  as  the  present,  you  know,  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  that  prayer  is  the  Christian's  anchor  of  hope 
— joint  supplication  to  God  his  neyer*failing  resource. 
Our  strength,  as  Tertullian  says,  in  such  visitations  is  in 
our  knees.  Let  us,  therefore,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 
one  and  all,  join  our  prayers  and  entreaties  with  those 
of  the  Catholic  world,  and  cry  out  together  to  the  Lord 
in  our  afEiction,  that  he  may  turn  this  present  storm 
into  a  calm,  and  bid  the  waves  be  still.  Let  us  pray 
him  to  give  consolation  to  the  wounded  soul  of  our 
chief  pastor,  and  a  troubled  spirit  and  a  contrite  heart 
to  those  among  his  own  subjects  who  caused  his  suffer* 
ings,  '*  for  our  Lord  is  the  keeper  of  the  great  and  the 
little  ones.  He  has  humbled  his  holy  servant,  that  he 
may  deliver  and  glorify  him,  turn  his  soul  into  rest,  de- 
liver his  eyes  from  tears,  and  his  feet  from  falling." 
From  his  hand,  his  Vicar  has  submissively  received  this 
chalice  of  tribulation.  Let  me,  then,  implore  you,  dear- 
ly beloved,  to  redouble  your  prayers  and  ovations  to  the 
all-provident  God,  that  he  may  speedily  restore  his  great 
and  good  Pontiff,  Pius  IX.,  to  a  truly  penitent  people, 
and  to  that  city  he  loved  with  a  father's  heart,  there  to 
sacrifice  to  him  once  more  a  sacrifice  of  praise,  and  call 
down,  as  he  was  wont  to  do,  blessings  on  the  whole 
earth,  "  in  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  own  house — in  the 
midst  of  thee,  0  Jerusalem  I"  To  carry  into  effect, 
dearly  beloved  brethren,  this,  our  anxious  wish,  we 
hereby  appoint  as  follows : 

Firstly.  The  faithful,  during  the  exile  of  our  Holy  Fa- 
ther, will  say,  at  their  morning  and  evening  family  pray- 
ers, three  Paters,  three  Aves  and  a  Creed,  that  God  may 


APPENDIX 


805 


fay 


comfort  His  servant  Pius,  and  protect  and  deliver  him 
from  his  enemies. 

Secondly.  At  all  the  station-houses,  the  faithful,  after 
having  received  Holy  Communion,  will  be  invited  to  join 
in  heartfelt  prayer  for  the  aforesaid  pious  purpose. 

Thirdly.  On  Friday  next,  let  Mass  be  celebrated  in 
each  of  the  Parochial  churches  of  the  Diocese  of  Derry, 
at  which  all  the  faithful  are  commanded  to  attend  for 
the  same  object. 

Fourthly.  Let*  the  Collect,  Deus  Omnium  Fidelium^ 
for  the  Pope,  be  continued  to  be  said  on  all  daj^s,  at  all 
Masses  on  which  the  Rubric  does  not  interfere ;  let,  also, 
the  beautiful  prayer  which  has  been  read  in  our  churches 
for  the  last  three  months,  and  said  to  be  composed  by 
His  Holiness  himself,  be  continued  to  be  read  before  the 
celebration  of  the  mysteries — ^before  all  masses  private  or 
public. 

Fifthly.  From  a  letter  I  had  lately  from  Rome,  it 
appears  that  His  Holiness  left  his  palace  without  any  pe- 
cuniary resources.  Hitherto,  we  have  not  been  called 
upon  to  contribute  anything  towards  the  support  of  the 
Father  of  the  Faithful.  In  his  present  condition,  both 
duty  and  gratitude  should  oblige  us  to  come  forward  to 
his  aid.  Poor  though  we  be,  we  will  still  find  something 
for  such  a  holy  purpose.  He  generously  shared  with  us 
in  our  distress — with  him  we  will  as  cheerfully  share. 
Let,  therefore,  all  the  faithful  of  the  Diocese  of  Deny  be 
afforded  an  opportunity  on  the  last  Sunday  of  Advent 
of  exhibiting  their  love  of,  and  devotion  to,  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  by  adding  their  mite  to  that  fund  which  the 
Catholic  world,  no  doubt,  will  feel  it  a  Christian  obliga- 


306 


APPENDIX. 


tion  to  provide.  The  contributions  of  Catholic  clergy 
of  this  Diocese  to  the  same  holy  purpose  I  will  myself 
thankfully  receive. 

Sixthly.  This  our  Pastoral  shall  be  publicly  read  iu 
every  church  and  chapel  throughout  the  Diocese  of  Derry, 
on  the  third  Sunday  of  Advent. 

May  the  grace  of  our  Lord  and  the  charity  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus  be  with  you  all.    Amen. 

»i<  Edward  Maginn. 

Bishop  of  Orthosia  and  Apostolic  Administrator  of 
Derry. 

Given  at  Derry,  this  8th  day  of  December,  the  Feast  of 
the  Conception  of  the  B.  V.  Mary,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1848. 


[When  we  had  proceeded  so  far  with  the  Appendix, 
it  was  found  impracticable  to  give  Dr.  Maginn's  Latin 
letters,  and  some  other  documents  of  interest,  without 
swelling  the  volume  to  a  size,  and  proportionately  in- 
creasing the  price  to  a  sum,  at  which  it  was  feared  it 
would  not  be  saleable  in  America.  But  should  the  suc- 
cess of  the  present  edition  warrant  it,  the  more  important 
of  the  Latin  letters  will  be  added,  either  in  pamphlet 
form  or  in  continuation  of  the  present  Appendix.] 


':        \ 


THF 


STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM: 

A  MANUAL  OF    PRAYER, 

dPontf  ileti  {torn  ^probtll  ^ourtM. 
BY   THE  REVEREND  TITUS  JOSLIN. 

WITH  THB  ArPBOBATIOir  OV 

^fOST  REVEREND   JOHN   HUGHES,  D.  D., 

ARCHBISHOP     or    IT  K  W    YOEK. 


"  It  fi  mora  ATHiliibla  to  pi«y  •  little  and  wall  with  atlaiitioB.  thao  to  pmy 
iniioh  afterianolhar  manner ;  for  God  la  not  OTereomo  with  the  innlt*i>Uelt]r  of 
nnr  prayxrt,  bat  with  the  weight  and  ferror  of  them."— St.  Baail,  in  OooatL 
Monaat,  C.  <. 


Netii»¥orft : 
P  .    O  '  S  H  E  A  , 

T89  BROADWAY  AND  90  BEBKMAN  8TREKT. 
186T. 


THE  STAR  OF  BETBLEBEM. 


TEBMS. 

Roan,  plain  binding,  neat  and  atrong,  1  steel  cngraTing, 0  7ft 

Roan,  gilt  edges,  2  steel  engravings, 1  35 

Am.  Mor.,  glh  edges  and  sides,  4  steel  engravings, 1  SO 

Turkey  Morocco  extra,  8  steel  engravings, 8  50 

do.  do.  and  clasps 3  00- 

do.  do.  bev.  edges  and  clasps, 3  00 

do.  do.  clasps  and  ornaments, 4  50 

Velvet firom  4  00  to  80  00 


P.  U'&HEA,  739  BROADWAY,  N.  Y., 

Haa  the  pleasure  of  announcing  to  his  friends,  and  to  the 
Catholic  Public,  that  he  has  just  published  the  above  new 
and  beautiful  Prayer  Book.  In  the  beauty  of  its  type,  in 
the  excellence  and  variety  of  its  illubtrations — engraved  for 
it  expressly — and  in  the  neatness  and  durability  of  its 
various  styles  of  binding,  THE'&JTAR  OF  BETHLEHEM  ia 
unsurpaetted,  by  any  prayer  book  in  the  English  Language. 
And  whilst,  as  regards  the  value  and  appropriateness  of  its 
matter,  the  name  of  the  Rev.  compiler  is  a  sufficient  recom- 
mendation, still  as  it  contains  many  prayers,  and  ftiany  in- 
structions not  to  be  found  in  any  other  prayer  book  hither- 
to compiled,  the  following  remarks  upon  its  arrange- 
ment and  contents  are  deemed  adviHable.  ■ 

It  may  here  he  remarkid  that  those  litanies,,  in  our  larger 
Prayer  Books ^  which  have  been  condemned  at  Rome,  have  not 
been  admitted  into  the  "  Star  of  Bethlehnm." 

The  instructions  on  the  sacraments  prepared  expressly 
for  this  work  are  of  the  most  solid  and  simple  kind. — 
Each  of  the  seven  sacraments  is  treated  of  in  a  separate  sec- 


THE    8TAK    OF   BBTHLBHBM. 


tion,  and  the  instruction  upon  the  sacrament  of  Penance, 
in  particular,  will  be  found  to  embrace  instructions  on 
going  to  confession  not  to  be  found  in  other  Prayer  books. 
The  examination  of  conscience,  which  is  not,  as  in  other 
books,  a  catalogue  of  questions,  is  full  of  useful  instruc- 
tions drawn  from  the  moral  of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori. 

The  treatises  on  prayer,  on  daily  examination  of  con- 
science, and  on  meditation  have  been  written  expressly 
for  the  ♦'STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM." 

The  Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  op  Jesus,  occu- 
pies an  ample  section,  and  la  more  complete  than  in  any 
other  prayer  book.  This  section  embraces  a  history  of  the 
devotion^  certain  prayers  of  the  Yen  Marg.  Mary  Alocoque 
and  others  which   have  never  before  appeared  in  English 

The  devotions  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  are  very  choice,  se- 
lected from  venerable  Blosius  and  authors  not  hitherto  so 
much  known  to  the  faithful  as  they  should  be,  and  occu- 
pying, together  with  the  dilferent  offices  of  our  Lady,  the 
most  valuable  and  vital  section  in  the  book. 

The  treatise  on  indulgences  is  unusually  simple  and 
clear,  and  is  succeeded  by  a  list  of  choice  inodloenced 
PRAYERS  AND  EXERCISES  from  Bi>uvier*8  Celebrated  treatise 
on  the  same  subject. 

A  section  on  the  passion  of  Christ  full  of  choice  medi- 
tations, a  new  article  on  the  stations  of  the  holy  cross  and 
A  section  on  devotion  to  St.  Joseph,  St.  Teresa,  tcc.^  will 
be  hailed  with  delight  by  all  good  Catholics. 

The  Ordinary  of  the  Mass  includes  all  the  proper 
prefaces  in  Latin  and  English. 

Thb  Vespers  includes  proper  psalms, /of  every  feast  in 
the  year,  and  each  psalm  isaocompanied  by  its  appropriate 


THB    STAR   or   BBTHLBHBM. 

^AR  or  MUSIC,  placed  ntttUly  and  canspicuoualy  over  the  page, 
tohich  M  a  new  and  attractive  feature  in  the  history  of  Manu- 
als of  devotion. 

The  Vespers  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  are  presented  una- 
bridged, and  these  together  with  Maxims  roR  btery  day 
IN  THE  MONTH,  £pi8TLB8  AND  GosPELB  for  every  Sun- 
day and  Holiday  of  obligation  throughout  the  year,  in- 
structions for  the  sick  and  dying,  a  choice  selection  of 
hymns  in  Latin  and  English,  a  section  on  devotion  for 
the  souls  in  Purgatory,  and  reason  for  becoming  a  Catholic, 
make  this  at  once  the  most  comprehensive  and  solid  Catho- 
lic prayer  book  that  has  yet  appeared,  whibt  the  excel- 
lence of  its  mechanical  execution  renders  it  unrivaled  in 
elegance  and  beauty. 

In  conclusion,  this  work  has  not  been  got  up  in  haste. 
It  has  now  been  fully  a  year  in  passing  through  the  press, 
and  has  been  revised  and  corrected  with  scrupulous  care 
and  will,  we  have  no  doubt|  be  deemed  worthy  the  title  of 
STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM. 

The  following  index  has  been  appended  so  that  persons 
may  have  a  correct  idea  of  what  this  prayer  book  con- 
tains before  purchasing  it. 


r 


-i^:^^»fu>_. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


A.  rAOB. 
Abridgment  of  the  Chris- 
tian Doctrine xxviii 

Act  of  Adoration 47 

"contrition 48 

"another. 58 

"  theloveofOod 16 

"  hope  and  confidence  in 

God 86 

"  resignation  and  love..     68 
Acts  of  Faith,  Hope  and 

Charity 47 

"  shorter 49 

Admonition  to  those  who 

attend  the  dying....  379 
AoNUs  Dei— a  Prayer  to  be 
said  daily  by  those  who 

carry  an 478 

Angelus  Domini 37 

AnimaChristi 103 

Apostles' Creed 83 

Association   of  the   Holy 
and  Immaculate   Heart 

•    of  Mary 439 

Ave   iMaria,  or  Angelical 
Salutation S3 

B. 

BArrisM— -Sacrament  of....  163 
Benediction  of  the  Blessed 

Sacrament 685 

"  prayer  after 014 

"  of  a  woman  after  child- 
birth 305 


Blessed  SACRAME.tT—       rAOB 

Benediction  of 686 

"  cdaculatory  prayers  to 

"  ^aoulations  in  honour 

of 887 

"  little  office  of 474 

Blessed    Virgin — Chaplet 
of  the  seven  dolours  of  448 
"  Immaculate     Concep- 

tionof 481 

"  compendium    of    the 

virtues  of 030 

"  conceived  without  sin.  407 

"litany  of 69 

"  little  chapter  of.  604 

"  meditations  on  the  Se- 
ven Dolours  of 430 

"  office  of  the 403 

"  prayer  for  the  feast  of 

the  espousals  of 610 

"  visitation 619 

"presentation 636 

"  of  St.  Aloysius  to.  . . .  433 

"  for  a  happy  death 411 

"  entering    your    room 

and  going  out 413 

"for   all  virtues,  espe- 
cially purity 413 

"  in  honor  of'^the  seven 
founders  of  the  order 

of  servants  of ;  430 

"  for  devotion  to 436 

"  practices  in  honour  of.  414 


/ 


vr 


INDBX. 


BLBMtn  ViBOiir— RoMiy  of  418 

"  MT«n  doloun  of 449 

"Mrthlrjortof 440 

••bMTcaljr    "     449 

"■orrowiof 43S 

"TMperiof M6 

"wkjr    of    aikiiif    th« 
blMiingof 44ft 


Calendar,  Romui xl 

Canon  of  the  MaM 113 

Chaplet  of  the  Imaaeuiate 

Conception 481 

Chaplet  of  the  wTen  do- 

lounofD.  V.M 448 

"St.JoMph 498 

Chriatian  Doctrine,  abridg- 
ment of xxviii 

Commendation  of  Bleiied 

Sacrament 481 

Compendium  of  vlrtuei  of 

the  Bleued  Virgin 6S0 

CoMnuNioic— Prayers     be- 
fore   394 

"after ...  338 

"  initructioni  on IM 

"  thought!     for     Uion 

who  go  often  to 170 

ConrKsiiorr— How  to  go  to.  309 

"  preparation  for 17ft 

"  prayers  after 310 

"thoughts  on 31d 

"  some  rules  for  those 
who  go  every  week  or 

fifteen  days  to 333 

"  examination    of    eon- 
science  to  be  used  for 

ageneral 179 

CoNFiRMATioir—  Saorameut 

of 154 

CcnJUtor  Deo,  or    general 

confession 34 

Conscience,    Examination 

of 174 

"aoother 303 

"  prayer  after  examina- 
tion of 308 


Coirramoif — A  et  of 48 

Corporal  Works  of  Mer- 
er   xxxi 

Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV 838 


DailT  examination  of  Con- 
science     39 

Days  of  Abstinence  from 

Flesh  Meat xxtI 

Dkaih- Mass^for  the ftOl 

Death— Preparation  for  the 
last   Friday   in   each 

month 389 

"  devotions  for  a  happy.  391 

Dies  Ins „..  a08 

Devotion  to  the  Blessed 

Child  Jesus 44 

"  for  a  happy  death 391 

"  to  the  agoniiing  heart 

of  Jesus 386 

"  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of 

Jesus 861 

"  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of 

Mary 441 

Devout  olfbring  to  the  Sa* 

cred  Heart 404 

DviNO— Prayers  for  the....  ft70 

"  short  acts  for  the 378 

"  admonition    to    tlioie 
who  attend  the 376 

£ 

^aculations 64 

Eight  Beatitudes xxv 

"  in  honor  of  the  B.  V. 

Mary 887 

E^jaculatory  prayers  to  the 

B.  Sacrament 387' 

Epistles  and  Gospels  for 
the  Sundays  and  Holi- 
days   throughout     the 

year.i 633 

Evangelical  Counsels...  xxxii 

Evening  Prayers fil 

Examination  of  conscience  174 

"  another  method 903 

"  on  the  Commandments  179 


INDBX. 


ClAMtVATlOW  or  CONMIINCB— 

prmx«r  after 306 

EiTBEMH  UifCTioi*— 8aon< 

ment  of 964 

"  pnyn  whil*  receiving  370 

F. 
Ftuvra  and  Faits— Table 

of xxili-xzir 

Fkstivam— Veapen  on....  671 
Form  of  admiuion  to  the 
oonfrstemitjr  of  the  Sa- 
cred Heart  of  Jeaui....  SM 

O. 

Grace  before  meat 406 

"a.^•r 406 

H. 

HailMary 33 

Hafpt  Death-  Devotiona 

fora 301 

H0I7  Eucharist IM 

Holt    Communion — Tho'ti 
for  those  who  go  often 

to 170 

"  prayers  before 934 

"after 336 

How  to  hear  Mass I(i6 

"  to  go  to  Confession. . ..  300 
"  to    prepare    for    the 

Priest  when  siclc 375 

Hymn  for  the  Epiphany. . .  501 

"  of  Assumption '....  613 

"  for  Christmas 5d0 

"  for  Easter 596 

••for  Lent 604 

"  for  Passion  Tide 695 

"for  Pentecost 698 

"  of  the  Most  Holy  Name 

of  Jesus 694 

"totheB.  V.  M 69 

"  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph.  610 

"  for  a  Confessor 609 

"  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  606 

Htmns— Xottn  Tilla. 

Adeste  Fideles 600 


lAdoroto  DeTOte 606 

Alma  Redemptoris  MaUr.  A4S 

Ave  Maris  Stella 666 

Ave  Regina  Coslorum 660 

At*  Varum 688 

DlMlrsB 608 

Siamea  Labia 461 
aedieLstus 600 

Iste  Confessor  Domini 600 

Lauda,  Sion,  Salvatoram..  603 
Lucis  Creator  Optima  ...  543 

OFilUatFilia 606 

O  Salutarls  Hostia 566 

O  Sanctissima 580 

Pange,  Lingua 603 

Panis  Angelicus 587 

Suicumque  Sanus  Vivere.  610 
egina  Cvli  Lsttare 661 

SaTve,  Area  Fcaderis 466 

Salve,  Horologium 46» 

Salve.  Mundi  Domina 463 

Salve,  Regina 36 

Salve,  Virgo  Florens 461 

Salve  Virgo  Pueniera 457 

Salve,  Virgo  Sapiens 454 

Sine  Labe  Concepta 603 

Stabat  Mater 480 

Supplices  Offirimus 463 

Tantum  Ergo  Sacramen- 

tum 686 

Te  Deum  Laudamus 616 

Te  Lucis  ante  Terminum .    63 

Veni  Creator  Spiritus 606 

Veni  Sancte  Spiritus 600 

HrMTfB—Engluh  THtUt. 
Bethlehem  of  noblest  Ci« 

ties 601 

Bright  Mother  of  our  Ma> 

ker 666 

Come,  my  Lips,  and  wide 

pioclaim 451 

Come,  O  Creator 60S 

Down  In  Adoration  falling  686 
Forth  comes  the  Standard.  605 
Hail,  Ark  of  the  Covenant  403 

Hail,  City  of  Refuge 458 

Hail,  Dial  of  Achaz 459 


( 


fl 


INDICX. 


Iltil,  FlouiUhmg  Vlrxin..  470 
Hail,  Lady  of  the  Worl.l..  464 
Hail,  Mary,  Queen  of  Heii- 

venly  Hplierai AAO 

llill,  Mother  moKt  Pure..  481 
Hail,  Motltoiand  Viririii..  4M 
Hail,  Queen  of  the  lieu- 

venM ,    .  lA'J 

Hail,   Real    Bwly  of    our 

Lord A88 

Hail,  Solomon 'a  Throne. . .  4<>6 
Hail,  Virgin  most  Pruiient  464 
Hnil,  Virgin  moU  Wise...  404 
Hail,  Virgin.il  Motlicr....  4d7 
He   on    tlie  final    Supper 

Night 476 

Holy  Spirit,  Lord  of  Light  509 
Hymn  of  the  Immaculate 

Conception,    t/   Father 

Faber 693 

Jefiua,    Redeemer  of   the 

World 600 

Jesu,  the  very  Thought  of 

Thee 604 

Marv,  sweet  Star 60 

Mother  of  JeNus A48 

OCome  all  ye  Faitliful....  690 
O   Great   Creator  of   the 

Light 643 

OOodheadhll 606 

O  Holy  Mother  of  our  God  680 

O  purest  of  Creatures 603 

O  Queen  of  Heaven 6S1 

O  Saving  Victim . .  686 

On  us  bestowed,  for  us  by 

Birth 476 

Sing,  sing,  ve  Angel  Bands  613 
Sion,  lift  thy  Voice  and 

ning 603 

The  Angelic  Bread  478 

Tlie  Broad  of  Angels 687 

The  Confe'sor  of  Christ...  600 

The  Incarnate  Word 477 

This  Day  receives 600 

Thoti  Loving  Maker 604 

To  Fnther  and  the  Son 480 

Tothl-i  Great  Sacrament..  470 
We  Prake  Thee,  O  God  ..615 


Ve  that  would  Lire 619 

Ve  Sons  and  Daughters. . .  606 

L 

Immaculate   ConoBmoR — 

Chapletof 481 

"  hymn  of,  by  Father  Fa- 
ber   603 

"  little  otttca  of 461 

Imduuikncki— Instructloni 

■on 338 

Indulgence  attached  to  a 
prayer  for  the  dead . . .  600 
"  for  prayer  before  a  pic- 
ture    of   the    Sue  red 

Heart 886 

"  resignation  to  the  will 

of  God 331 

"  teaching  Catechism  ..  388 

"the  last 378 

Instructions  on  Holy  Mass    74 
Invocations  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus 377 

J. 
Jbsus— Litany  of  the  Holy 

Name  of 40 

"  Hymn    of    'he    Holy 

Name  of 604 

"  devotion  to  the  Ch  l.i .  4t 
"  Agonizing  Heart  jf. . .  'i%h 
"  The  Sacred  Heart  of..  381 
"  exercise  during  Mass 

in  union  with 380 

"  practices  in  honor  of. .  876 

"invocations  to 377 

"  Act  of  Consecration  to  378 
"  act  of  love  to,  by  Ven. 

M.  M.  Alacoque 381 

"  prayer  of  St.  Gertrude 

to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  382 
"  Act  of  reparation  to..  383 
"  visit    to    the    Sacred 

Heart  of 884 

"  form  of  admission  to 

the  confraternity  of. . .  38d 
"  indulgence  for  prayer 

before  a  picture  of. . ..  886 


INDIX. 


fH 


••»  Titit  to  the  Saorwd 

Heart  of 401 

"another 4M 

"  »  devout  offeriDg  to...  404 

L. 

Lett  Agony 384 

Lait  Indulgence 378 

Litany  of  the  Bleued  Vir- 

?;in  Mary 69 
onv  of  the  Holy  Name 

of  Jeiui 40 

Litany  of  the  Sainta 347 

Little  Chapter  of  the    B. 

VlfKin     884 

Little  Ofllce  of  the  Blewed 

Sacrament 474 

Little  Office  of  the  Imma* 

culato  Conception 481 

Lord'i  Prayer 83 

M. 

Magnificat,  or  Canticle  of 

the  B.  V .  M.  • .  •  • ....  848-886 
Mabt— Aiioclatlon  of  the 
Holy  and  Immaculate 

Heartof. 48£ 

"  ooncelTed  without  lin.  407 
"  devotiona  to  thp  Sacred 

Heartof... 441 

"  act  of  reparation  to. . .  444 
*'  prayer  or  St.  Oertrude 
to  '.ae  Sacred  Heart  of  444 
Mas*— Inatruotloni  on....    74 

"canon  of 113 

"ordinary  of 70 

"  another     method     of 

hearing 138 

"how to  hear 168 

"fortheDead 801 

"  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of 

Jeiui 880 

MATaiMoifT— The     Sacra- 
ment of 398 

"  ritual  for  the  eelebra- 

tion  of    801 

Maxima  for  every  day  In 
the  month 810 


Maxima  on  prayer 14 

Meditation  —  loatruotiona 

on 17 

Memorare 410 

Morning  Prayer 38 

"  ahorter  form  of 83 

"  for  a  little  child SO 

Movable  Faaati xxiil 

"FaaU xxlv 

N. 

NovKNAa— 'nitructiona  on.  404 
Novena  to  St.  Joseph 488 

O. 

Offering  of  aleep  and  wak- 
inflf*  ••••••••••••t*     ••••    Oo 

Office  of  the  B.  V.  M 463 

Oaoaaa— Sacrament  of ... .  308 

P. 

Paaalon  of  Chrlat 800 

"  the  Scapular  of  the. . .  448 
Pknanoe— The  Saeiament 

of 173 

Practleea  In  honor  of  the 

Sacred  Heartof  Jesua..  378 
Peat KR— Instructiona  on . .  7 
Prayer  after  Benediction. .  814 

"  Holy  Communion 336 

"  before         "  334 

"  for  Chriatian  courage 

and  fortitude 314 

"the  dead 66 

"the  dying 870 

"  holy   Maaa  in    union 

with  the  Sacred  Heart 

of  Jeaua 889 

"  peace 06 

"  time  of  famine  and  pea- 

tilence 68 

"  of  peatilence 68 

*'  perseverance  In  good 

neaa 618 

"  the  aoula  auffering  in 

purgatory 487 

"  maxima  on 14 


i 


y 


vin 


INDEX. 


"  of  St.  Gertrude  to  the 

Sacred  Heart  of  JesuR.  383 
"  la  honor  of  the  seven 
founders  of  the  order 
of    Servants    of    the 

Blessed  Virgin 436 

"  of  St.  Gertrude  to  the 

Sacred  Heart  of  Mary.  444 
"  Aloynius  to  the  Bless- 
ed Virgin 423 

"on  a  journey 64 

"to St.  Anna 488 

"St.  Joachim 488 

"St.  Joseph 485 

"  for  devotion  to  the  B. 

V.  M 486 

"Teresa 484 

Prayers,  devout  and  profit- 

ble  for  the  dying 379 

"  after  the  Soul  has  de- 
parted   384 

"  while  receiving  the  sa- 
crament of  Extreme 
UncUon 367 

Pbaters  or  Feasts. 

Prayer  for  the  Feast  of  the 
espousals  of  the  B.  V. 

Mary fil6 

"  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales.  616 

"St.  Patrick 616 

"  Gabriel  the  Archangel  517 

"St.  Joseph 517 

"  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna  617 
"  St.  John  Nepomucen ..  517 
"  Bemardine  of  Sienna.  518 
"B.y.M.  Help  of  Chris- 
tians  618 

"  St.  Philip  Neri 518 

■'  Anthony  of  Padua. ...  519 

^'  St.  Aloysius 619 

"  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul..  619 
"  VisitaUon  of  the  B.  V. 

Mary 619 

"  B.  V.  M.  of  Mount  Car- 

mel 5") 

"  St.  Vincent  of  Paul., .  ' 


"  St  James  the  Apostle..  630 
"  St.  Anne   (Mother  of 

the  B.y.M.) 531 

"St.  Dominic 631 

"  St.  Laurence 531 

"  St.  Bartholomew 531 

"  St.  Rose  of  Lima    ....  633 
"  Stigmas  of  St.  Francis  633 
"  The  Holy  Angel  Guar- 
dians  533 

"St.  Bridget 633 

"  St.  Dionysius  and  Com- 
panions, Martyrs 633 

"  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara. .  633 

"St.  Raphael 633 

"All  Saints 634 

"AU  Souls 634 

"St.  Gertrude 634 

"  Presentation  of  the  B. 

y.  M 636 

"St.  Cecelia 636 

"  St.  Catherine 636 

"St.  Michael 527 

Prayer  of  St.  Philip  Neri 

to  the  B.y.M 411 

"  to  the  B.  y.  M.  for  a 

happy  death 411 

"  St.  Bernard  to  the  B.  V. 

Mary 418 

"  St.  Aloysius         "  433 

"  by  the  devout  Blosius.  436 

"  on  a  journey 64 

Feast  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  613 

"  Nicholas        618 

"  Holy  House  of  Loretto  513 

"the  Nativity 614 

"  St.  Stephen 614 

"  St.  John,  Apostle  and 

Evangelist 614 

"  of  the  Holy  Innocents.  614 
"  Circumcision    of    our 

Lord 616 

"  Ifipiphany 616 

"St.  Agnes     615 

"  St.  Thomas  of  Canter- 

Ibury 616 
Preface 1 


INOKX. 


IX 


X 


PFepitntion  for  death  for 
t'lfl  laat  Friday  of  each 
month 389 

P'AI  MS  IN  Lmllf  AND  ErrOLISH. 

OIX  Dixit  Uominus— The 

Lord  said 631-545 

ex.  Confiteor  Tibi  Domini 

I  will   praiso   Thee,  O 

Lord 633 

OXI.  Beatus   Vir— Blessed 

is  the  roan 634 

OXII  Laudato  Pueri  Domi- 

num— Praise  the  Lord  ye 

children 53(i— 657 

OXIII.  In  Exitu    Israel— 

When  Israel  went  out  of 

Egypt 633 

OXVI.  Laudato  Domlnum 

— O  Praise  the  Lord 542 

OXXI.    Laetatus    Sum  — I 

wtts  glad 559 

CXXVI.  Nisi    Domiaus— 

Tnlessthe  Lord 601 

OXLYII.  Lauda  Jerusalem 

l^ominum  —  Praise    the 

Lord,  O  Jerusalem 563 

CXV  Credidi— I  have  be- 

lievel 571 

OXXV     In    Convertendo 

Diiininus  —  When      the 

Lor<),  &c 573 

OXXXYIII.  Domine,  pro. 

basti    me— Lord,    Thou 

hast  proved  me 674 

CXXXI  Memento  Domine 

— O  Lord,  remember....  678 
CXXIX.  Do  Profundis  cla- 

mavi— Out  of  the  depths 

&c 339-593 

OXXVII.    fieati  omnes— 

Blessed  are  all 684 

XLII.  Judica  me   Deus— 

Judeome,  OOod 79 

GIL  Bless  the  Lord 315 

LXXXIY.  Lord,  Thou  hast 

bleified  Thy  Land 317 

XXVI.  The   Lord   is  my 

Light 336 


VI.  O  Lord  rebuke  me  not  334 
XXXI.  Blessed  are  they..  335 
XXXVII.  Rebuke  me  not, 

^^O  Lord 837 

CIXLI.  Hear,  O  Lord,  my 

Prayer 340 

L.  Have  merny  on  me 343 

CI.  Hear,  O  Lord,  my  Pray* 

er 345 

LXIX.  Deus  in  Adjuto« 
rium— O  Ood,  come  to 

my  aid 357 

L.  Miserere  Mei  Deus — 
Have  mercy  on  me,  O 
Ood 503 

R. 

Reasons  for  becorainz   a 

Catholic 63S 

Recordare 411 

Rosary  of  the  B.  V.  M 415 

S. 
Sacraments      Instruction* 

on  the 150 

"ofBaptism 153 

"of  Confirmation 154 

"  of  Holy  Eucharist  ...   156 

"  of  Penance 173 

"of  Extreme  Unotion...  364 

"  of  Holy  Orders 395 

"Matrimony    399 

Salve  Begina 36 

Scapular  of  .«1ount  Carmel  430 
"  Bull    of     Pope    .<ohn 

XXII.,  regarding.         431 
"  the   Sacred    Heart   of 
Jesus  and  Mary,  and 

of  the  Passion 445 

Seven  Deadly  Sins  and  the 
opposite  Virtues. . . .  xxxii 
"  Dolours  of  the  Blessed 

Virgin 436 

"  gifteof  the  Holy  Ohost  xxx 

"  Penitential  Psalms 334 

"Sacraments xxx 

Short  Prayers  of  St  Orego- 
ry  on  the  Passion. ...     .311 


/ 


\ 


/' 


■'^, 


INDKX. 


SioKifcra— Initraetioiuon.  370 
Sins    against    the    Holjr 

Ohost-o xzxii 

"  crying  to  Heaven  for     , 

vengeance xxxii 

Six      Precepts      of     the 

Charch xxix 

Sorrows  of  the  B.  V.  M... .  433 
Souls      m      Puroatokt — 

Prayers  for 4W 

Spiritual  and  Corporal...  xxxi 

Stabat  Mater 430 

Stations  of  the  Cross 339 

Subjects  for  daily  Medita* 

tion xxxiii 

T. 

TanturaErgo M6 

"  another  translation. ...  446 

Te  Deum  Landamus 615 

Thoughts  for  those  who 
go  often  to  Holy  Commu- 
Bion 170 


Thoughts  on  Confession.    919 

Three  devout  and  profita- 
ble Prayers 370 

Three  Theological  Vir- 
tues  xxs 

Three  Eminent  Good 
Works.... xxxll 

Twelve  Fruits  of  the  Holy 
Ghost XXX 

V. 

Vespers ft38 

Vespers  of  the  B.  V.  M.       AM 

"on  Festivals ft71 

"  for  Christmas  Dav ....  683 
Visit  to  the  Sacred  Heart 

of  Jesus 884 

"another. 401 

"another. 409 

W. 
Way  of  the  Cross 83* 


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